Venari Dente
by Hollowgo
Summary: AU. Only when the world around you begins to descend into chaos do you discover what you're really capable of. But no matter how bad or bleak things may get, knowing you don't have to stand alone helps the most. Bellice/Katella. Rated T for a lot of language, some more adult themes and eventual violence. May become M in the future. Collaboration with xPaige Turnerx.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: We do not own the Twilight series, Miss SMeyer does. We only own our individual ideas and our collab ideas.**

_"They believe the wolf is something to be ashamed of. We see things differently._

_Humans want us to believe we're the monsters. The moment you believe them..._

_That's when you become one._

_It will be like nothing you've ever felt, your mind won't want to believe it._

_It will tell you a wolf is invading your body, trying to take over._

_And if you believe that, for even a moment, you'll black out and lose control." ~ Anita, Once Upon A Time_

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Chapter One**

**1.1.1.**

Dark brown eyes stared tiredly up at the ceiling. They flickered over to the bedside table and her alarm clock sitting on top, the little red numbers glaring back at her defiantly. 5:52 am.

She sighed, eyes rolling back up to the ceiling, waiting for the alarm to go off. She considered getting up and showering early, but Uncle James would probably bang on the door and demand her to turn it off. He always was cranky after a night of drinking. Which was most nights.

_All nights._

Turning on her side, Bella stared at her curtain blowing in the chilly morning breeze. The window never closed completely, leaving about an inch of space at the bottom. She shivered, curling further into her cocoon of blankets, glaring at the curtains. 5:58 am.

"Every morning!" she groaned aloud.

_"Shut up!"_ The words were snarled through the walls of the house and Bella sighed again. Guess she was skipping the shower that morning.

Bella grabbed her phone, tapping the screen to life and firing off a text to her best friend. Knowing Jasper, he was probably already awake and showered, making breakfast for his mom before she had to go to work.

The alarm clock went off, blasting Radiohead for the second before Bella slammed her hand down on it. She groaned, rolling out of bed, shivering again when her toes met the freezing hardwood floor. Her mornings were routine, the schedule so ingrained in her by now that she could do it in her sleep. Hell, half the time she was still asleep.

She'd wake up, go over and stand in front of her window, staring into the woods behind her house. The cold morning air would help wake her up while her eyes tried to pick out anything from the shadows and trees. Then she'd trudge to the bathroom down the hall and have a quick shower, brush out her dark mane of hair, and teeth, before collapsing back on her bed and falling asleep.

That would leave her with just a couple minutes to throw on a pair of jeans, a shirt, zip-up hoodie, and her coat before Jasper was outside, honking and ready to pick her up. Bella blinked down at her shoes, sitting on the bottom step of the stairs while she tied them up, hearing James just start to stomp around above her.

Outside, Jasper honked the horn again, staring down at his watch. He hadn't seen the guys since yesterday morning and wanted to hangout before class, but Bella was really pushing it.

"Keep your panties on," the brunette muttered. She grabbed her bag from the couch, cursing James in her head as she shoved empty beer cans off of a stack of her sketches and books, stuffing them in the bag before running out the door.

Jasper's wavy blonde head poked out of the window of his jeep. "Move your ass, zombie!"

"Hardy har h—oh!" she gasped, foot slipping on the frosty cement step and reached for the jeep to catch herself. Bella aimed her steely glare at her giggling friend and hopped inside, reveling in the heat coming from the fan. "Just drive, asshole."

"Yes, ma'am!" he wheezed out, giving a mock salute. Jasper shook his head, peeling out of the driveway with one last chuckle. "Every morning."

The students of Forks High clumped together on the school grounds before class, not eager to separate for the next hour. Each second with their friends was precious, cramming in gossip of who slept with who the previous night, what homework had they forgotten, did anybody see that episode of their show.

Jasper rubbed his hands together, blowing warm air on his numb fingers. Emerald green eyes flickered over to his best friend, narrowing in annoyance. How was she not freezing right now? "Why aren't we in my jeep right now? You know, comfy leather seats, powerful heaters, music on the radio. Any of this ringin' a bell?"

"Ehh," the brunette shrugged her shoulders. "You're the one who said we should be more social with our friends."

He huffed at Bella who was paying minimal attention, too consumed by her sketchbook. Idly, he glanced down to see what she was drawing, taking in the harsh and sharp edges of her latest masterpiece. Something was up with her lately, she'd been in a mood for the last week, and over at his house more than usual. Which was quite often to begin with. "You're not even socializing though!"

Again she made some non-committal noise in the back of her throat, untucking a red pen from her ear and adding bold colour to the paper. "That's not true," she murmured, smudging the led of her pencil and red ink together. She stared down at the paper with an intensity not often given to anything but her art. "We passed a doobie around when you went to the washroom."

"Wha – aw, come on!" The blonde looked around the back of Ben's pickup truck where the others – Eric, Tyler, Katie and Angela – were also huddled together before class. He was met with matching mischief grins. "Screw you guys. Selfish." Jasper stood up, hoisting himself onto the parking lot pavement. "I'm going to class."

"Aw, don't be like that, bro," Katie said. Bella could see the remnants of a joint between her fingers. Her eyes jumped from him to Bella, lingering on her for a moment as she smiled warmly at the brunette, who gave her a half-smile back, before returning to Jasper. "It's not our fault you were too busy taking a piss while we had the goods."

"Poor Jazzy," Angela said, giggling.

Jasper scowled. "Whatever. Jerks."

Tyler leaned over the side, eyes glassy. "Wait, man. So you guys are coming to the party tonight, right?"

"What party?" He asked, catching his bag that Bella hurled at him. He gave the brunette a look, tempted to push her back into the bed of the truck as she got ready to hop out with him.

Eric jumped out too, stretching his frozen limbs. "Jessica Stanley's having some big bash tonight. Everybody's going. You're gonna be there, right?"

"Ugh, Stanley," Bella groaned. She scanned the parking lot, brown eyes landing on the group of Barbies huddled by the math building. Their ten foot heels, fake orange tans, giant hair, and big purses.

Reaching out, Ben hooked his arms around the two's shoulders. "Very true," he agreed with the brunette. "On the other hand though, free booze."

Jasper perked up, looking down at Bella. "Doesn't sound too bad."

"Yeah, and Katie's bringing some grade A pot with her," Angela said. "Right, Katie?"

The redhead grinned. "Hell yeah. So even if her party is the lamest shit on the planet, we can make it last as looong as we want it too without problem."

The two girls jumped off the truck and went to stand by their brunette friend. "Whaddya say, Bells?" Katie asked, smiling warmly at the brunette and reaching out to place one hand on Bella's shoulder, which she left there. Even with the tender smile, she gave the brunette a pleading look, as if the redhead wanted for Bella to go really badly. "Jas is coming. Or will be soon enough, I'm sure."

"Ehhh." She tried to shake off the begging look in Katie's eyes, but she was having a hell of a time.

Jasper bumped his shoulder against hers. "Come on, it's free booze. How can you say no to that?"

"Yeah, but it's Stanley," she argued. The two began their trek towards class, hands shoved in their pockets for warmth. "And you heard Eric, everyone's gonna be there. Which means Hale is gonna show up. Double ugh! Stanley and Hale, Jas."

"We're going and that's final." His look left no room for arguments.

Bella, however, was not known for reading social cues. "But cheerleaders!" she whined.

"I'm out a smoke and you owe me, we're going and you'll like it."

She growled, crossing her arms over her chest and stomped into the building. "Oh I'll go. I'll go, mister, but I will not like it and you can't make me!"

"I'm sure a toke or two will change your mind," Katie said, wiggling her eyebrows and playfully slapping Bella's arm. She was beyond thrilled.

Bella hid her amusement at her redheaded friend's reaction. "Hmph."

The others laughed as they headed off to their separate classes. English, math, science, art, history, Spanish, then lastly, P.E.; that was Bella's schedule this year, although the brunette was far from fond of most of her classes. Art was the only one she ever bothered to pay attention to.

One by one, the classes went by. Bella's mind was usually on anything other than what the teachers lectured on. In this case, the party was front and center on her mind. The idea of being under the same roof as Hale and Stanley…

Ugh. She shook her head as the bell rang. Lunch time.

Jasper was outside the class as she exited. The blonde stood against a wall, his eyes following the movements of two girls with nice, big –

"Ahem!" He turned to face Bella, who gave him a look. "Taking in the eye candy as usual, I see."

He smiled sheepishly. "What? Like you're the only one who can?"

"Ever hear of a little thing called stealth? Look into it," the brunette snarked back.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "C'mon, let's go get our crappy lunches."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"So I'm sitting there with this huuuge joint and I remember this bitch," Katie pointed to Angela, "and this bitch," she nudged Bella, who gave her a half-grin back, "thought there was no way I could smoke it and take a hit from the beer bong they were passing around and a fresh bag of grass, but I totally proved 'em wrong." She beamed. "Best fucking night of my life."

"Yeah, but you passed out, like, five minutes later," Angela said. They were sitting at their usual table, away from the chatters of the other students, close to the windows.

Katie frowned. "Huh. That's why I don't remember much. Good food, though."

"It was McDonald's," Bella said, snickering. She took a bite out of the apple she'd been playing with. "Their food stinks."

Speaking of stink, the acrid smell of cheap perfume assaulted Bella's nostrils seconds later and she turned her head just in time to spy the Barbies waltz into the cafeteria. Then again, everyone could smell it. It was impossible not to.

Three sets of long flowing hair, two blonde, one brown, lots of makeup and egos that made the entire state of Washington look like an ant. Rosalie Hale, Lauren Mallory, Jessica Stanley. The self-proclaimed Queen bees of Forks.

"Is it me, or did it just get skanky in here?" Angela asked.

Eric slicked his hair back. "No, it got hotter."

"Dude, seriously?" Katie said. The redhead flicked a wrapper at him in disgust. "I'm bi and _I_ wouldn't touch those bimbos with a thirty foot pole."

"I'd touch them with my thirty foot pole," Eric said, earning him six groans in unison.

"I sincerely doubt your half-an-inch pole would impress them," Bella said. She looked over to Katie and Angela, holding her thumb and index finger an inch apart with a smirk on her face.

The others burst into laughter. Eric winced. "Ow."

The sound of their laughter carried to the other end of the raucous cafeteria, and at once, the three Barbies turned their heads in the direction of the table. Jessica sneered in disgust, Lauren scowled and Rosalie, the leader, narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, guys," Mike Newton said. The blonde boy plopped down across from Bella and the others, at which point they stopped laughing to look at him. "How's it going?"

"Well," Jasper replied, filling the gap of silence. "How are you, Mike?"

Mike wasn't someone they talked with much, but not because he was as hated as the Barbie girls. Bella found him a decent enough guy. The problem: he was friends with the Barbies. He was always in their company, yet he acted as if he wasn't whenever he came to visit them, which was often.

"Good, good," the other blonde said. "So, you coming to the party tonight?"

A loud scoff prevented replies. "Excuse me, but I never said they could come." Jessica stood close by, scowling up a storm with her hands on her hips. "What the hell, Mike?"

"What?" Mike said. Bella could tell he really had no clue what she was irked about. The guy had a habit of being too nice to everyone.

"These asswipes aren't allowed," Jessica said. Her eyes looked at each of their faces to make sure they registered her sincere disdain. "If any of you show up, I –"

"You'll what?" Bella interrupted. "Call the cops to tell them someone crashed the party you probably shouldn't be having while mom and dad are away?"

The shorter brunette Barbie clicked her teeth together. "Uh, no, dumbass. I'll have you thrown out onto the fucking street." She jabbed Bella in the shoulder. "Especially you, Swan. Your filthy dyke-face is the last one I want to see, got it?"

The table became dead silent while Bella stared down at the extended finger pressing into her shoulder. The word angered her. Having it come from Stanley angered her. But the lowest blow was the act itself. Insult plus Stanley plus finger jab plus threat. Bad combo.

Jessica, however, retracted her hand and threw another sneer at Bella before spinning on her heels and waltzing off. Bella glared after her until Jasper put a hand on her shoulder.

"Easy, Bells," he whispered. "If you're gonna clobber her, do it away from here."

"I will," Bella said. The brunette turned back to her table of friends excluding Mike, who had sadly left to return to Jessica's side. "You know what? I am going to have fun at that crappy party. We all are. We'll drink her booze and break some stuff, too."

"Woo, woo!" Ben shouted. "Yeah, this is gonna be the bomb!"

Angela face-palmed. "Ben, don't… don't talk like that, please."

Ben huffed. "Fine."

Bella said nothing and turned to peer at the Barbies at their table. Jessica was running her mouth and waving her hands while the other kids at their table watched. The only one who wasn't looking was Rosalie Hale, whose eyes were on Bella, fixed into a glare.

"Bella?" Jasper gave her a nudge. "You good?"

The brunette sighed. "Yeah. I'm fine."

.

.

.

"So what time is this party?" Bella asked. Eric and Tyler had already left, while Ben, Katie and Angela walked with her and Jasper.

"It is… um…" Ben scowled. "Babe, what time is it at?"

Angela shrugged. "Hell if I know. You know how much shit I've got to remember these days, Ben?"

"It starts at eight," Katie said. "And it runs until the following morning when everyone's too shit-faced to remember where they are or what happened to them."

All eyes turned to the redhead, the one who forgot things more than anyone due to being high more than anyone. She looked taken aback and scowled.

"What? I know things!"

"Since when?" Jasper asked. He linked one arm around Bella, a gesture she didn't shrug off like she would've had it been someone other than Jasper – or one of her friends, except maybe Eric, though it would be more of a joke than anything.

"Since… you know what, fuck you guys," Katie said. She gave Bella a brief look, during which she winked, then stuffed her hands into her pockets and jumped into Ben's truck without another word.

"Aw, Katie, don't be a bitch," Angela said, grinning. She opened the door and looked over at Bella and Jasper. "See you two at the party. What time we going?"

"Nine?" Ben offered.

"Ten thirty," Jasper said, though it was more of a suggestion than a statement.

Bella shrugged. "We'll figure it out. Later, guys."

Ben nodded and got in the truck, which sputtered to life before it drove off.

"So, my place?" Jasper asked.

"Like you have to ask," replied his best friend.

Breaking Benjamin blared through Jasper's speakers on the ride to his house, and save for that, the two sat in a comfortable silence. The blonde tapped his fingers on the steering wheel along to the tune, aiming for all the deep puddles on the road, tires breaking through the thin layer of ice atop them. In the other seat, Bella had her head against the window and stared off into the trees.

The moisture and chilly air created a thick layer of mist that hovered over the ground, which was more apparent in the woods. It gave Forks an overall macabre feeling that was strangely comforting for the girl, and her fingers twitched with the desire to draw.

Jasper glanced over at Bella, frowning. "Everything good over there, Bella?"

"Sunshine and butterflies."

His frown deepened. "Ya sarcastic ass. Stop moping in my jeep or tell me what's wrong."

"Fine," she huffed, pulling her dark gaze away from the window and to her friend. "It's Stanley."

"What about her?"

"I hate her!" She said, throwing her hands in the air. "I hate her guts!"

Jasper nodded, as if the girl was stating that Forks was spelled with an F. "Yeah, okay. Hence us crashing her party and drinking all her alcohol. Seriously, Bella, what's got you so blue?"

The brunette settled back into the seat, staring up at Jasper's house before them. He turned off the engine, giving her his full attention and she shifted uncomfortably. She was tempted to tell him—if there was anyone she would tell, it was him and him alone— but the words died on her tongue. She didn't want to worry him with talk of the nightmares of her parents' accident. Then he'd want to talk about it, want her to talk about it, to counselors and shrinks. The thought put a sour taste in her mouth.

She looked into his big green eyes, full of concern and love. She rubbed at her chest that suddenly felt tight, and blinked away the inexplicable sting of tears. Bella hooked a smirk on her face, punching him in the shoulder playfully. "Just can't believe you spent lunch staring at her rack, man. Talk about betrayal."

With that, she hopped out of the jeep, running up to the house before the freezing rain could get her. Jasper sighed and followed her into the house, taking a deep breath of the nachos he could smell cooking in the kitchen. "We're hooome!"

A kind faced, tiny blonde woman bounced around the corner from the kitchen, bringing a fresh wave of nacho aroma with her. The grin on her face widened when she saw her son and his friend. "Hi, guys. I just put dinner in the oven, should be ready in about twenty minutes. I have to run out again later tonight for a last minute poker game with the ladies, I hope you don't mind."

"That's the second time this week," Bella said, kicking off her shoes and tossing her bag on a hook. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were cheating on me, Julia."

Jasper's face twisted up. "Oh gross, Bella. You know I hate it when you do that."

"Hey, that's no way to speak to your father," Julia said, grinning. "Go to your room."

The blonde rolled his eyes, taking the stairs two at a time up to his room. "Nasty."

Julia watched the two go, shaking her head at their antics. "Bella, honey, you left a stack of books here Monday night. I put them on Jasper's dresser," she called up.

In his room, Jasper flopped back onto his bed, letting out a deep sigh. "I don't like school," he whined. "Can't believe we have to rinse and repeat for another seven months."

"I can't believe we're going to this stupid party," Bella said from the computer chair.

Jasper leaned up to give her a look. "Are we still on this?"

"What? Hale's gonna be there all night, calling me gross or orphan or some other lame insult. I don't like her either," she said, spinning around in the chair.

A mischievous grin slowly pulled at Jasper's lips. "Oh contraire, Pinocchio, I know that's just not true. You're still crushing, aren't ya?"

"What?" She viciously stopped the chair, so fast she almost toppled out of it. "Hell no – say that again and I'll punch you in the mouth!"

Jasper laughed, rolling away from the fist Bella threw at him. "Romeo, Romeo, why seteth thouself up for heartbreaketh?"

"Seriously, you wanna get hit?" she growled out.

He laughed again. "Alright, I'm done. Yeesh, someone's cranky. So what do you want to do before the party? We have, like, five hours to kill."

"Well I guess we could get started on our homework."

The smile on Jasper's face fell quicker than Stanley's panties at the homecoming football game. "What?"

"Hah! Did you see your face?" Bella laughed, already grabbing controllers for the Xbox and throwing one at the boy. "Your mom's leaving for the night once she drops a giant pan of hot, gooey, cheesy nachos on our lap. Light a blunt and put in a game, dude."

Hearing Julia call out to tell them that she was heading off, Jasper went over to his dresser, grabbing the tin under the mountain of socks in his drawer. "You scared me for a minute. I thought some body snatchers shit was goin' on here."

"This is the real world, Space Captain. That kinda stuff doesn't happen, and even if it did, this is Forks. Nothing exciting ever happens here," Bella said, turning her controller on. "Now puff puff pass, greedy."

**.**

**.**

**.**

The mattress beneath Bella's face vibrated, buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, pause. Buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, pause. Buzz-

"Bella! Wake up and answer your phone!" Jasper growled from across the room, staring intently at the television.

The brunette stirred, grumbling nonsensical things into the bed and lifted her face enough to see her phone flashing. "What?" she snapped into it, stretching her tired limbs. "What the hell do you want?"

_"Fuck you too, Bella,"_ Katie said with a goodhearted laugh. _"We're getting ready to leave for the party and called to make sure you guys were too. You ready?"_

Bleary brown eyes peered down her body at her clothes. Black jeans, band shirt, hoody. Classic Bella. She looked over to Jasper who almost had his face pressed up against the television, cussing out the player that kept killing him in game. A crooked smile hooked onto her face and she nodded until she realized Katie couldn't see her. "Yeah, man, we're good."

_"Alright, we'll save you some booze, just get here safe to drink it,"_ Katie said before hanging up.

Groaning, Bella stretched again, curling up into Jasper's pillow. "We gotta go soon."

"Okay, I'm ready – shit! Cheater! I was safe! I was saaafe!" Jasper screeched, furiously turning everything off. "This game sucks."

Bella snorted. "Right. The game is the one that sucks."

"Hmph." Jasper opened another drawer on his dresser, rifling through it until he pulled out a white shirt with some logo on the front, tossing it at Bella. "This is yours, and the one you're wearing has salsa down the front."

Blood burned in her cheeks as she held out the hem of the shirt she was wearing. "Dammit. Turn around," she sighed, pulling off the offending article. Her pale skin gleamed in the lamplight of Jasper's room, a stark contrast to the dark purple ink of her tattoos. Down her neck and spine was a trail of stars, and on her stomach was a crescent moon, clumped with three more stars. One for Renee, Charlie, and Jasper. She pulled on the new shirt and her hoodie again, grabbing one of Jas's combs to drag through her hair.

The brunette followed her scarred friend back downstairs to lace up her shoes. "How long are we staying there?"

"Uh." Jasper shoved his feet into his boots, leaning back against the front door. "I don't know, until you have fun?"

"Oh great, so we're going to be there all night?" Bella huffed seriously, tempted to kick her shoes back off. "She better have decent music, man. Otherwise I might have to slap a bitch."

Jasper chuckled, tossing the girl her leather coat. He winced midway, always forgetting about all the buckles, and getting slapped afterwards when one would crush Bella's knuckles. "That would make the entire night."

The two raced back to the jeep through the rain.

Like all the Barbies at school, the Stanley's house was enormous with an even bigger yard way out in the middle of nowhere. It was surrounded by woods, which made it the prime time spot for parties because no one would complain about noise or call the cops.

The rain had stopped halfway to Jessica's house, which the two were thankful of as they parked on the side of the road. The place was already packed to the brim, cars lined up down the driveway and onto the road like they were. Kids screamed and laughed, jumping around and dancing to the music that was blasting all they way out to the jeep. Most partied inside, but some had spilled out onto the deck and down into the yard, all the lights lit up around the property until it glowed like a beacon.

Jasper's emerald gaze caught sight of two familiar figures, Tyler and Eric stumbling out of the woods, laughing on each other. Bella and Jasper jogged over to catch up, exchanging smiles and greetings. "Hey guys, what... why's Eric's face so red?"

"'Cause he's a fuckin' stoner!" Tyler laughed, wheezing in air. "He... oh man, you should have been there. He practically pissed himself in the woods just now!"

Eric, who was too busy trying to catching his breath and not choke on his own laughter, dangled from Jasper's shoulder. "I t-totally saw something, dude! I swear," he took a deep breath, forcing a straight face. "Honest, it was a big fucking bear or something, man, and it was watching us!"

"It was a bush, you high motherfucker," Tyler said, shaking his head. Giggles still escaped now and then, but he was mostly calm again. "I even went over to look. We're cutting you off!"

A grin broke across Bella's face when he snatched Eric's beer and handed it to her. "Cheers!" she sang to the pouting boy, taking a big swig.

"Whatever," the boy grumbled. "I'm tellin' everyone it was a bear." He paused. "And that I chased it off."

Jasper shook his head, following him into the mansion with the other two on his heels. The music was twice as loud inside and he knew he'd have to start drinking soon if he wanted to bypass the headache that was forming. "Where's the others?"

"Boo!" Katie shouted, jumping around a boy trying not to vomit. She gave him a concerned look before pointing and laughing. "It's about damn time you guys showed up." She came over and threw her arms around each of them, lingering on Bella for a long moment.

Setting the empty bottle down on an expensive looking side table, Bella looked around the room and at all the people. "Where's Angie and Benny?"

"Sucking face in one of the bathrooms, last I saw," Katie said with a shrug. Again, her eyes trailed to Bella's and the brunette saw something flash in them. Katie's eyes widened. "Oh! And I saw Nicholas and Sarah going into one of the rooms alone! Someone's getting their cherry popped tonight! Ah, classy."

Brown eyes rolled up to the ceiling as Bella crossed her arms. "This is great. I'm so glad I threw away my Friday night for this."

"Come on, let's get cranky a bottle," Jasper said, pushing through the sea of kids towards the makeshift bar that Stanley had set up. He went through different bottles, humming now and then to himself. "Nope. Gross. Not strong enough. They still make this? Bland. Bland. Weak. Gross. Aha! Here," he handed it to her, frowning and looking around the table. "Where's the bottle opener?"

"Got it," Bella muttered, popping the top of her bottle against more furniture. She looked at the scuff, a smile slowly pulling at her lips. "Things are looking up!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

The brunette swayed on her feet, face flush, starting to get a little sweaty. She pressed the bottle to her forehead, huffing at the warm glass. She jabbed a giggling Jasper in the side, getting his attention. His red, glassy eyes blinked down at her and she smiled. "I'm goin' for a smoke!"

"Smoke?" Angela echoed, her face lighting up.

Bella waved her off. "A _smoke_ smoke. Not the funny kind."

"Gross."

She chuckled, turning and making her way through the ocean of students with Jasper at her back. "Move... move... move it, douchebags!" she growled, elbowing kids that didn't heed her warning. Finally she broke free, tumbling out the glass door onto the porch.

The cool night air blew against her heated skin, cooling her down immensely. She patted her pockets, pulling out a pack and flicked a cigarette between her lips. "You got a light?" she asked around the white stick, hopping down off the porch and into Stanley's yard.

Jasper landed with a thud next to her, lighter waiting. She smiled her appreciation and he nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "So how are you liking the party so far?" he asked as they walked to the woods, looking for a quiet place to talk.

Shrugging her shoulders, Bella blew out a ring of smoke. "Fine, I guess. You?"

"Well I'm not dead inside, so I'm having a blast." He ducked away from Bella's slap, a cheeky grin on his face. "Oh hey, didn't Eric say there was a bear in these woods?" Jasper asked, looking at the trees all around them. The buzz he was on numbed out the trickle of fear that threatened him, and Bella's next words eased his fears.

She raised an eyebrow, flicking the ash off her cigarette. "Tyler said it was a bush. Who're we gonna trust, the boy who jumps at his own shadow, or Tyler?"

"Very true," he agreed, continuing further down the little path. He gave Bella a side-glance before taking in a deep lungful of air, letting it out in an echoing howl that echoed through the woods.

Bella jumped, dropping her smoke and looked at him with wide eyes. "What the actual hell, man! You gave me a heart attack, asshole!"

"I'm scaring off bears," Jasper defended with a laugh. "Maybe make a couple kids piss their pants, too."

The brunette stepped on the cigarette butt, shoving her freezing hands into her pockets. "Like me? Jerk."

"Me? A jerk?" He scoffed. "I can read past your hurtful words, Bella, and I love you too!" He gushed, pinching her cheek.

She growled at him, swatting his hand away. "Shut up, I do not," she grumbled.

"Yes you do!" He batted his eyelashes down at her. "You looooove me, I'm your best friend."

"Whatever."

Jasper chewed on his lip, alcohol swimming through his system and effecting his decision making. Running off alone in the woods to scare her was totally a great idea! "Fine, let's see how well you do without me then!"

The brunette spun around just in time to see the back of his coat dancing off through the trees. "Jasper, no! Are you stupid!?" She sprinted after him, cursing in her head when she lost sight of his big stupid blonde head. "We're in the woods, you idiot! Have you never seen CSI? This is how every episode starts!"

The silence of the woods met her ears, in the very distance she could make out the bass music coming from Jessica's. Bella skidded to a stop, looking around wearily. She was just running farther and farther into the woods. Who knew if he was even down there? What if he circled back and she was getting lost for nothing? If he was down there, though, she couldn't just leave him. An animal could attack or something. Again! He'd have even more scars!

This was bad. This was very bad. "Why would you run off? How is that a good decision? We're gonna get killed out here for a stupid joke. Asshole." A light bulb went off and Bella fished her phone out of her pocket, dialing his number with frozen fingers.

It was hard to hear, but she could definitely hear some kind of jingle ahead of her. Great. Further into the woods. She sighed, dialing his number again and started jogging in the direction she could hear it coming from.

When she found him, her anger was immediately replaced with relief and mirth. She chuckled, shaking her head and walked over to crouch next to Jasper. He'd tripped over a branch, face planting into the forest floor, obviously while checking his phone as it was lit up a foot in front of him. "Heya, buddy."

He lifted his face up from the ground, dirt clinging to his forehead, goofy smile on his drunk face. "Hi. I'm going to feel this in the morning, aren't I?"

"Oh yeah," she agreed. "Come on, let's get back to the party. I'm sure the others are missing us by now."

Jasper pushed himself onto his knees, dusting off the front of his shirt. "Do you think Jessica will let..." The words died on his tongue, blood draining from his face.

Bella raised a brow. "What? Let you what?" She gently pushed his shoulder, frowning when he didn't move. "Jasper, what?"

"Don't move." He whispered, reaching forward slowly to grab her wrist. He ever so slightly leaned to the side, peering around her again, into the big blue eyes between the trees a couple yards away. They were huge and reflected the light like an animal's, but were so high up they couldn't be anything but... a horse or something. Since when did horses have eyes like those? "When I say, run back to the party as fast as you can, Bella."

She huffed, shaking his grip off of her wrist. "What are you talking about?"

"Bella,_ listen_ to me!" he all but snarled under his breath. "There's something behind you."

Her heart stuttered in her chest before beating achingly fast. The words of all the best horror flicks were just said to her in the scariest, most serious face Jasper had ever given her. She swallowed harshly before her brows furrowed. Wait. That was the most classic, clichéd line out of any scary movie, ever. Plus, the jerk had run out here in the first place to scare her. Son of a... "You turd, you had me going for a minute."

Jasper reached for Bella's hand again when she turned to leave, a gasp falling from his mouth. "Bella, no!"

Her brown eyes locked onto a pair of glowing blue ones staring back at her, the terror from before coming back tenfold. She sucked in a deep breath of air, ready to let it out in the biggest scream of her life, when those eyes moved. "What the fu-"

An enormous beast of an animal pounced from the cover of the trees, a big furry shadow tackling Bella back into Jasper. Twigs and rocks of the forest floor dug into Bella's back painfully, but it was nothing compared to the weight of the thing on top of her, or the sharpness of its claws digging in her shoulders. She tried to scream but she couldn't hear anything above her heart pounding in her ears, the blood rushing through her body with adrenaline.

Digging her hands into grey fur, Bella push and heaved and kicked, trying to get the thing off of her so she could breath. Her lungs burned, screaming for air, while her ribs throbbed, threatening to crack or cave. This was it. She was going to die.

Jasper crawled away from the struggle, yanking his leg out from beneath Bella's and the animal's. He searched for something, anything, some kind of weapon, and grabbed the branch he had tripped over. With all his might, Jasper swung it down on the beast's back, watching the wood crack in half and fall apart. "Get off!" He screamed, throwing his weight into its side, pushing and shoving.

He gasped when its head whipped around, big snarling jaws, glowing blue eyes, and horns pointed at him. The beast let go of Bella's shoulders to swipe at him, sending him flying back into the ground.

It turned back to the girl beneath it, and Bella swore the thing grinned down at her. Enraged, she let out the last of her breath in a wail, ripping the fur in her hands from its body. It snarled out a whine, roaring in her face while she reached to the side for a rock, smashing it up in one of its eyes.

That distracted it enough for her to turn over, clawing at the ground and trying to crawl away. She dragged in a lungful of air and dirt, reaching for Jasper's phone. Help. They needed help.

"No!" Jasper shrieked and Bella braced herself in time for those huge jaws to snap down on her side. She screamed, feeling the teeth sink down into her flesh, and went limp.

It was done. She was a goner, done for. There was no point in fighting anymore. Maybe Jasper could get away while it finished her off. That was all she could hope for now.

The blonde hoisted one of the tinier boulders, more of a rock, into his arms and charged. He heaved it around and into the beast's head, sending it toppling to the ground next to his bloody and battered friend. "Get up! Get up, Bella!" He shouted through his tears, yanking her up onto her feet.

He dragged her back through the trees in the direction he hoped was the party, looking over his shoulder every couple of seconds, expecting that... thing behind them. Each time it wasn't, it gave him hope.

They sprinted through puddles and creeks, over branches and twigs, rocks and hills. He swore it hadn't taken them this long to get out there to begin with. His legs throbbed and lungs burned, ready to give out from exhaustion, but he kept going. Pushing himself harder. And when Bella's legs finally gave out and she almost tumbled to the ground, he scooped her over his shoulder and kept running.

"Hang on, Bella. Just hang on. We're almost there." He blinked away the tears in his eyes, wiping at his face to see better. "Everything's fine. You're okay. We're okay. Just hang on." He could feel the warm blood running down his back and knew it wasn't his.

It felt like an eternity, but really couldn't have been more than twenty minutes – thirty at most, and finally the two broke free from the trees. He hadn't even heard the music, just his own words and heart in his throat. They had come out close to the road and Jasper ripped his keys from his pocket, opening the passenger's side of the jeep and set Bella in carefully.

The blonde turned on the light in the ceiling, letting out a grief filled sob. "Oh, Bella." There was so much blood! It ran down her face from the gash on her forehead, and from the five gaping wounds on each shoulder from claws. Even through the leather of her coat. "It's not bad. It's fine, Bella." He was pretty sure she was unconscious by now.

With trembling hands, Jasper ripped the, once white now red, shirt down the middle to get a better look at the bite wound. Her pale stomach was stained red, but the enormous teeth-marks were no longer bleeding. He sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead and took a calming breath. "What..."

Jasper squinted, using his sleeve to wipe some of the blood away, and studied the wound more closely. His eyebrows shot up in astonishment when the smaller teeth marks started closing up, the bigger ones looking less and less severe. He pulled her coat off, checking her shoulders, and poked at the blemish and wound free skin.

With more confusion than ever, Jasper looked up into his friend's unconscious face. The scrapes and gashes from being tackled were sealing up in seconds, as if they were never there to begin with, the bruises fading into pale, healthy skin. He shook his head, hand running through his hair, and stepped back from the jeep.

"What the hell?"

**A/N: ****Hollowgo: Hello folks! Welcome to my next big project, and my first official collaboration with the great xPaige Turnerx. Yes, THAT Paige Turner. **

**Paige Turner: *waves***

**Hollowgo: She came up with the base concept for this story and together, we've begun to write it, and it's been amazing to be able to work with someone as talented as Paige. That said, we hope you enjoy this new story and feel free to share your thoughts on it. It's a first for me in several ways, but I don't want to spoil anything major yet. ;)**

**Paige: Anything familiar you see belongs to their rightful owners, anything new is mine and Hollow's collective brainchild. Don't forget to hit that little review button before you go, and enjoy! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight stuff, nor does Paige. We only own our individual ideas and our combined ideas.**

"I'm_ going under (going under), drowning in you (drowning in you). I'm falling forever (falling forever), I've got to break through. I'm going under…_

_Blurring and stirring the truth and the lies, (so I don't know what's real) so I don't know what's real and what's not (don't know what's real and what's not). Always confusing the thoughts in my head, so I can't trust myself anymore…" ~ Going Under by Evanescence_

**Chapter Two**

**2.2.2**

Jasper raked a hand through his messy mass of blonde hair while the red light blared ahead of him. He couldn't decide. Hospital. Home. Hospital. Home.

He glanced at the brunette lying motionless next to him. Her wounds had healed, but she was out like a light. Fear gripped at his insides while he thought back to what had happened. But he had to swallow it down. Bella was the most important thing right now. She was alive and uninjured, which was what mattered most.

_Home_, he decided. He knew he couldn't explain what happened anyways. She had no wounds that he saw. They'd think he was crazy. Maybe he was crazy. Or heading in that direction. He sped off when the light turned green to his house, shooting looks at his best friend every few seconds to make sure that she was still breathing. So far, so good.

"Please be okay," he whispered under his breath. His heartstrings felt a tug and he fought back the tears that threatened to spill over. He reached over and placed one hand on Bella's shoulder. "You hear me? You'd better be okay, damn it. You'd better not die or anything like that on me."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Dude, Jas, where the hell is Bella?" Eric asked.

Jasper sighed. "She's not feeling good."

"Damn, man," Katie said. "She must've been more shitfaced than the rest of us!" She smiled at it, but there was a glimmer of worry in her eyes since it wasn't like Bella to miss school even when she _was_ shitfaced. Which was rare, oddly enough.

Jasper smiled, but it was also a half-wince. It was Monday now and Bella was at her place, resting. He'd kept at her his place over the weekend and stayed inside, keeping an eye on her. She'd been out of it the entire time, however, without waking up once. He worried that would be bad for her stomach—and bladder—but his attempts at rousing her had failed. It scared him.

Now, Jasper was just counting down the seconds until he could leave school and go to his friend's side. He didn't like keeping his other friends out of the loop. He knew they weren't complete idiots, either, regardless of how good an actor he could be when he had to. That, and lying wasn't in his nature.

"You okay, bro?" Tyler asked. He gave Jasper a nudge. "You look out of it."

"Yeah," Jasper said. "I'm worried about her, that's all."

"D'aw," Angela said. "Bella's tough, Jas. She'll be okay." The black-haired girl paused. "Do you want me to come with you after school to check on her?"

Across the table, Katie's head whipped up. Her green eyes darted between her two friends as she chewed on her lip, trying to keep the worry from her voice. Bella was just sick, that's all. Jasper said so himself, and yet he avoided eye contact each time he said it. Maybe she was reading too much into things though, when it came to Bella she tended to do it quite a bit. "Me too!"

Jasper offered them a tiny smile. "No. Thanks, but I can handle it."

The others started to offer similar sentiments, especially Katie who practically jumped at the chance to help her out, but the lunch bell rang and Jasper was able to leave without another word. He considered outright skipping. He stopped himself, however, knowing Bella would tease him if he did and his mother wouldn't be thrilled with him, either.

_Damn my good upbringing and nature,_ he thought. He almost laughed. Almost.

**.**

**.**

**.**

The brunette groaned. Her eyes opened slowly, and after a few blinks, the blurs faded and she saw the ceiling of her room. Her body ached. Every inch of her, from head to toe. She was also hungry. Thirsty. And…

_Crap, I gotta pee real bad,_ she thought. Her limbs felt numb and heavy, and when she tried to move, all she felt was pain. She let out another groan.

That was when she felt a different sensation. A different pain.

Bella twitched. Out of nowhere, her entire body felt like it was burning from the inside out. She yelped at the invisible flames and forced herself to sit up. The fire increased in strength. It spread through her veins and swarmed around every inch of her as she staggered to her feet, wincing at how much it hurt.

_Ow, ow, ow, ow!_ The brunette started to sweat as she staggered out of her room to the bathroom. Her nerves were aflame, fire coarsing through her body, seeping into her bones and blocking out everything else. All she could think about was easing the fire somehow. Nothing else mattered, nothing else existed but the fire. Burning agony.

After what felt like an eternity of flame, Bella made it into the bathroom and started to fill the tub with cold water. Her mind was a haze because of the burning pain, making everything blurry, every conscious thought escaping her. Like trying to catch smoke. She tried to get undressed, and managed to kick off her shoes and get her belt undone, but the roar of the flames drowned out anything but the desire to extinguish it. She plunged herself into the ice water.

The chill of the water felt good as it started to rush onto her body. But her consciousness waned and, as blackness encased her, her last movement was to reach forward and turn the cold water off. She didn't know if she succeeded.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Jasper cursed under his breath at his final class for taking so long to end. He thought he'd never get the hell out of there, but now that he was free, he ran to his vehicle like his life depended on it, then booked it to Bella's house.

When he got there, he was relieved to see that no one was home yet—and they probably wouldn't be till tonight knowing how her Uncle James was—and ran up to the door. He used the spare key he always kept with him and ran into the house upstairs, but when he checked Bella's room, she wasn't there.

He wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

"What the…?"

That was when he heard the sound of running water and rushed into the bathroom. There was Bella, passed out in the almost-overfilled bathtub with her clothes still on. Mostly. Jasper let out another relieved breath and went over to the tub.

"Bella?" He gently shook her shoulder and turned the water off in full. The water was freezing cold. "Bella? Bella!"

The girl stirred, her face twisting up in confusion. "Ehh... what?"

"Wake up, you idiot, before you get hypothermia!" Jasper shouted. He started to empty to the tub while the brunette came to, at which point she shrieked and jumped out of the tub so fast, she crashed into Jasper.

"COLD!" she shouted. "HOLY SHIT THAT IS COLD!"

Jasper groaned and pushed the soggy girl off of him. "Christ, you're dumb."

She started shivering, so Jasper gave her a towel and sat her down on the toilet seat cover while he glanced back at the tub. He noticed the water looked a tad… red, probably from the blood that had stained Bella's skin, but rather than say anything, he erased the thought from his mind and turned back to his best friend. She was now officially awake.

"You scared me half to death," Jasper said.

Bella, with chattering teeth and blue lips, looked up at him. "D-d-did you p-put me in there?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "No, genius. You did. I put you in your bed."

"Oh." Bella frowned as she dried herself off, at which point she remembered waking up and dragging her numb body to the bathtub. "Yeah, I did." She stood up and looked at Jasper. "What the hell happened?"

The blonde opened his mouth. His words trailed off, however. "I…"

"Jas." She said, dabbing the towel at her dripping clothes. Her brows furrowed and she peeled off her wet sweater to look at what was left of her shirt beneath. It was almost in shred, the stomach completels gone, ends dangling at the side. The shoulders, despite the water, were crusted to her skin with five jagged holes in each. "I look like I was mauled," she laughed.

When she looked back up at Jasper, she faltered at his pale face. The traumatized and haunted look in his light eyes. He looked down at his feet, unwilling to meet her eyes. If she couldn't remember...why tell her? He wished _he_ couldn't remember, he would trade this memory for anything. He couldn't put that back on her, not when she was fine, as if nothing happened. Jasper shook his head, this wasn't something he wanted to burden her with.

She had enough to deal with in her own life, she didn't need to freak out over monsters in the woods. "Nothing. I mean, I don't know. I guess we partied a little too hard."

The brunette pressed her lips into a thin line. She and Jasper had been friends for a very long time now, and she knew when he was lying. Not to mention...

"Well, mind telling me what the hell this is then?" She pulled her ripped shirt up, turning so he could see her side better. Down along her side, was a pale crescent moon scar. Or, more specifically, a damn teeth line. "'Cause, I don't know about you, but it looks like something took a fucking _chomp_ out of me," she snarled.

Jasper winced, flinching back away from her words. Though she was no Saint, Bella usually didn't have too bad of a foul mouth, and even when she did, it was usually in Italian to spare people. Her sarcasm or glare always did the trick, she didn't need to rely on cursing. So when she did, that meant she was livid. Or scared. Probably both this time, Jasper could see so many different emotions swimming in her dark eyes. All of them eventually fading into an anger he hadn't seen since Charlie's accident.

He ran a hand through his hair that was probably sticking up by now from how many times he kept doing that. "I really don't know, Bella. We were in the woods and... I was being stupid." Why did he run off like that? What was he thinking? His eyes stung with tears he forced back. "Then some animal or, I don't know, it was weird. It attacked us." Blue flames flashed in his memory, those eyes staring at him hungrily. "I-It wouldn't get off of you... but then it did. I think you hurt it, maybe. And we ran. I've never run so fast in my life."

Bella listened to his broken words he was choking out, his eyes puffy and red, but surprisingly dry. She could remember almost nothing, but as he spoke, little things came back. The taste of dirt in her mouth, Jasper's screaming, the stars in the sky before a shadow blocked them out.

"When we got to the jeep, you were-" He scoffed, still unable to believe what he had seen. "Hell, you were healing. Like something out of a movie. Your wounds were just –_zoop –_ gone, just like that. As if it never happened. You wouldn't wake up, though, so I took you to my house. No one would believe me if I took you to the hospital. They'd lock me up. Or worse, if they did believe me, they'd stick you on a table to poke and prod at." Jasper pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to get his hysteria under control. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I hid you in my room during the weekend, trying to wake you up whenever I could. You wouldn't stir, not for food or a drink, not even to use the bathroom."

Now that he mentioned it, her needs hit her like a freight train. Her stomach let out an ungodly growl she tried to smother so he would keep talking. Her throat so dry, she was astonished she could form words, and her foot started tapping, waiting for him to leave the bathroom.

He sighed. "This morning I brought you back here and put you in your bed. I had to go to school to cover for you, so no one would go looking. When I got here, you were in the tub."

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence that got heavier and heavier with each second that ticked by. Jasper stared down at his feet, waiting for her to call him a liar and punch him in the shoulder. She waited for him to laugh and say he was kidding. That this was all some kind of prank that he and the others put together when she passed out. Neither one backed down from their silence, both too scared to speak first.

Water dripped from the ends of Bella's dark hair, her chin, her body. The towel she was using was sopping wet and a puddel was forming around the toilet. Had she taken the entire tub of water with her when she got out?

Finally she cleared her throat, pushing herself to her feet. "I need a warm shower. I... you can wait in my room if you want."

"Bella, I think we should talk—"

"_Jasper."_ She gave him a look and he nodded, leaving the bathroom again. Her shoulders slumped when the door closed, towel falling to the floor in a gross slop. Bella turned to the mirror above the counter, glaring back at her reflection. This wasn't real. This was a dream. Something would give it away, maybe a floating chair or something, but this_wasn't real_. It couldn't be.

Dark orbs stared back at her with a hunger that was frighteningly familiar. She shivered again, looking down and away. Was that why Jasper couldn't look at her? She walked back over to the tub, turning on the shower this time, letting it get nice and steamy before she peeled the rest of her clothes off.

The burning water felt good on her aching muscles. The steam was working knots out of her body, pressing out all the kinks, all around soothing her. She sighed, feeling the water run down her back, mind flashing back to the previous night. Running through the woods looking for Jasper.

She grabbed the soap, lathering up her hands and scrubbing her skin until it was squeaky clean. She could remember twigs and rocks digging into her back painfully. She led the trail of soap up her arms to her shoulders...shoulders. She remembered the pain in them, like knives digging into her, refusing to let go.

Bella shook her head, ridding the images from her mind. Maybe this wasn't something she _wanted_ to remember.

Quickly finishing up in the shower, Bella stepped back out into the bathroom to find a stack of clothes on the counter. She smiled at Jasper's thoughtfulness, pulling on the jeans and shirt and drying her hair. Before leaving, she opened a few different drawers in the counter, looking for a pack of smokes. James always had some hiding somewhere around the house, and she could almost _feel_ the stress fading away at the thought of one.

Strolling out of the bathroom and down the hall, Bella puffed out a breath of smoke. "What are the chances that James bought some food last night?"

Jasper popped his head out of her bedroom with a frown. "Um, low. Like, the lowest? We're talking about _our_ James, right? The bum who calls himself your guardian?"

"_Cazzo_," she huffed. "Let's go for a bite then, I'm starving." She said, nodding her head. Her stomach growled painfully again and she grimaced, clenching her jaw until her teeth her. A wave of dizziness fell over her, eyes stinging painfully until she shook everything away.

The blonde leaned in close, staring into Bella's face intensely. What was that? "I'm losing my mind, Bella." He said, more of that hysteria creeping back into his voice. "Seriously, I'm seeing shit that isn't there. What happened last night?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened," she growled. She grabbed his shoulders, giving him a small shake. "Listen to me very closely, Jas. I'm fine. You're fine. No one else said anything about an attack, right?" He nodded. "It didn't happen. We were shit-faced last night. Mixing drinks and pot and exhaustion. _Nothing_ happened, we just had a bad trip. So let's forget about it and move on with our lives, okay?"

He frowned, looking down at her coat she had pulled on. The holes in the shoulder, through the leather. _Leather_. That was hard to do. It didn't just randomly happen. "Your scar."

Bella huffed, letting him go and walking out the door. "Jasper, I'm clumsy. I could have gotten that years ago doing any number of things. Just let this go. Please."

It was nothing. They would treat it like it was nothing, and it would _be_ nothing.

Nothing at all.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Jasper watched with wide eyes while Bella devoured the giant meal in front of her. They'd gone to their favorite restaurant and, at first, ordered simple meals. But then, Bella start ordering more and more. She was on her fourth plate and her fourth different meal.

"Jeez," Jasper said. The brunette snarfed down a giant bite and chugged down the rest of her root beer. "A cheeseburger, a chicken salad, shrimp… and now a steak? I know you haven't eaten in a few days, but _damn_ girl."

Bella swallowed and glanced at him. "What?"

"I don't think I've ever seen you devour so much food," the blonde remarked.

Bella shrugged and finished her meal before leaning back to relax. "That was way better than anything James could've brought home, let me tell you."

"True," Jasper said with a nod. He was still a bit worried about his best friend. There was something… off about the way she ate. At least, that's what he thought. But then, she was hungry, and he remembered one time when he hadn't eaten for a whole day. Jasper pushed the worries away for the time being. "You should call the others and tell them you're okay, by the way. Katie and Angela in particular."

Bella's head jerked up. "What did you say to them?"

"That you were sick," he replied.

Bella groaned. "Jaaaaas."

"They were worried," Jasper said. His eyebrows knitted together. "The first thing they asked me when I got there this morning—okay, maybe it was the third thing, but still—was where you were and what was up. They kept pestering me all damn day, so I told them you would call them or something. It was all I could do to keep Katie from marching down to your place after school with me. She threatened to kick my ass if I didn't tell you. She may not be as tall as you, but that girl is damn near terrifying when she gets mad!"

"I'll see them tomorrow," the brunette huffed out. She didn't like the idea of the others worrying about her, nor did she like the idea of informing them that her 'sickness' was her own fault from partying too hard.

Deep down, she was touched, however. While she wasn't as close to the others as she was to Jasper, she'd known Angela and Katie for almost as long and the boys since freshman year. They'd bonded over their shenanigans—getting high, getting wasted, hours of video game and movie marathons at one another's houses, and so on—and Bella knew they cared for her even if they didn't always show it. Having unopened texts and missed phone calls—almost ten from Katie—on her cell phone proved that.

"Just text them, you dope," Jasper said. Bella frowned and his eyebrows wiggled. "I know you, Bells. I know you checked your phone and saw the missed calls. I saw 'em. Stop being such a misanthropic hermit!" He gave her a light kick under the table and she shot him a glare. "I'm gonna go pay the bill."

"Uh, no," Bella said, standing abruptly. "I am."

Jasper stood as well. "The guy should be the one to pay."

"Not always and we're not dating anyways," Bella said.

The two tried to race toward the counter to pay, but they were both stuffed from eating. Somehow, Bella managed to get there faster, moving with a burst of speed that seemed to come out of nowhere. Jasper merely sulked while she pulled out a credit card and handed it to the friendly blonde girl behind the register.

After, they left. Jasper drove while Bella begrudgingly responded to the texts she'd missed. Jasper smirked at the sight. But he was still worried.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Yo, Bella!" Ben said. "Feeling better?"

The brunette sighed. "_Yes_, Ben. I'm fine. I told you that. I told Angela to tell you that. I'm alive and everything is where it's supposed to be. Jeez."

She and Jasper were sitting on the back of Ben's pickup with the rest of the gang. They'd only been there for two minutes, but already Bella was annoyed.

Jasper found this hilarious. "Poor Bellsy, she can't stand the thought of people caring about her."

"Fucking bitch," Katie said playfully. "Go die, Swan. We hate your guts. You stink, you suck and… um…" She frowned. "Quit bellyaching. We were worried." The redhead looked around anxiously, wondering if the others could hear relief in her voice. The emotions she struggled to keep beneath the surface. Yet when her eyes landed back on the brunette, her anxiety faded away from the warmth that bloomed in her chest.

"I know," Bella said. She ducked her head and a curtain of chocolate hair fell over her face to hide her embarrassment.

She felt awkward now. She didn't like it. The whole 'being serious' and 'having friends' thing was not something she liked talking about, even with Jasper, her closest friend. It scared her. She didn't know what the right thing to say or do was, and she couldn't help wondering what it was that made these people like her so much. She couldn't wrap her head around it half the time, and now, after something so minor, for them to be acting so concerned…

"That was some party though, wasn't it?" Tyler asked.

"I don't remember half of it," Angela said. "Well, other than…" She glanced at Ben and the two shared mutual, goofy grins that met with a chorus of groans, the loudest coming from Bella, who liked the change in topic. "That and the fight."

The brunette's attention was fully piqued. "Fight?"

"Yeah, there was this huge fight between Hale and some random chick that showed up at the party," Eric said. "Never seen her before, but _damn_ was she hot. It was great, though. You guys should've seen it."

"Kinda scary looking, though," Angela said. "She was taller than Hale and really toned, too. And there was this look in her eyes…" She shuddered. "Scared me."

Bella and Jasper shared a frown, but before they could ask anything else, the bell rang and the group reluctantly separated to head to their classes.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Long, luscious blonde hair flowed as the tall blonde moved through the halls. Standing at six feet tall without the need of heels, the well-endowed, stunning Rosalie Hale strutted her way through the mass of students with many heads turning and a few rolling eyes. To her left was Jessica, the shortest with six inch heels, and to her right, Lauren, only a few inches shorter than her fellow blonde.

Rosalie could hear the whispers. Not all, but some. Bitch. Prima donna. Whore. Slut. Hot. Barbie. Babe. The list of slurs and compliments went on, but she tuned them out, as she always did. She knew no one would ever say those things to her face if they knew what was good for them.

"Did you get the number of that creepy skank from my party?" Jessica asked. She'd been unusually quiet until then.

Rosalie's fine eyebrows lowered into a frown. "No. But if I see her again, I'll give her mine after I give her two black eyes and a broken jaw." She let out a low hiss. "You should have gotten the football guys to keep a better eye on your party, Jess. I spotted more unwelcome guests than welcome."

"Definitely," Lauren said.

"I _know_!" Jessica huffed out. "I saw Swandyke and her groupies there. That tall bitch Weber and her damn short boyfriend were using one of my rooms to fuck! Like, ew. Seriously. Those stupid boys were too busy getting drunk and staring at us to do anything." She snickered and fluffed her brown hair. "Guess we can't blame 'em."

"No, we can't," Rosalie said. She felt a tiny burst of pride in her beauty, half-hearted though it was. Then her mood was soured. "Speak of the Devil."

Across from them was Bella Swan, Jasper Whitlock and their other friends—Rosalie knew their names, but she wasn't dignifying them with that in her head. The group was chattering and laughing about something, which irked Rosalie greatly. Why did they have to do that so much? Why did they always have to be so happy and friendly? Why did they have to unintentionally remind Rosalie of what she didn't have, Lauren aside?

Bella Swan caught sight of the blonde and her friends and immediately scowled. The blonde beauty's eyes narrowed and she felt a pulse of anger. What was that look for? Rosalie knew. She was judging her. Hating her. The brunette was jealous of her good looks, her money, her everything. It was easy to see.

Rosalie saw the tension in the brunette's body. That was amusing. Bella was five ten. Shorter than Rosalie, but also not as toned. Rosalie wondered, for a moment, how well Bella would manage in a fist fight. The blonde had been in them numerous times as a young girl. Her parents never knew, of course. Not that they would ever care. Rosalie just bribed the problems away after beating those who got in her way—boy or girl—into a pulp. Swan would be no different.

"What's _she _looking at?" asked Katie, the redhead. Stoner girl. That's what Rosalie knew her as. She stunk of pot most of the time. A total loser.

The group started inching closer to Rosalie and her friends. Rosalie's anger continued to boil. Her eyes never left the cold brown orbs of Bella, who looked irritated. No. Not just irritated. There was a flash in the brunette's eyes. Something… different. Rosalie didn't like it.

"What the fuck are _you_ looking at?" she snapped.

Bella's glare strengthened. "An annoying bitch, that's what."

"Funny, that's what _I_ was thinking," Rosalie sneered out.

"Rose," Lauren said. She placed a hand on Rosalie's wrist.

The brunette twitched. A spasm seemed to move through her, one Rosalie and Jasper both saw. Jasper frowned with concerned eyes while Rosalie remained unmoving and annoyed. "_Non mi rompere i coglioni, puttana_!"

"Rose." Lauren's voice was louder. "Let's go. Leave it alone for now." Her eyes met Jasper's kind ones before flickering away again quickly.

"Why?" Jessica asked.

"You bitches wanna start something?" Katie growled, practically Bella's shadow because she was so close.

The entire hallway had grown silent. Tension was thick in the air as the irritation in Bella's eyes seemed to dissolve. Rosalie's, however, didn't. She didn't know why she hated them so much. Oh, right. She hated everyone. Swan just pushed her buttons by being so damn vocal about the disdain she felt for Rosalie, which just made her all the angrier. Her and her damn friends.

Jasper put a hand on Bella's shoulder while Lauren tugged Rosalie and Jessica away from the group. Rosalie allowed herself to be pulled as she watched the emotions dance across the brunette's face, primarily confusion and anger. Something was off about her.

"Freaks," Jessica hissed under her breath. The three turned their backs and continued down the hall, pushing past a group of gawking freshman boys.

Bella clenched her teeth and let out a shaky breath. She started walking again, staying silent while her friends started talking again. She'd felt anger when she saw the girls she despised. But she also felt… something else, too. Like an impulse that came from out of nowhere. She didn't know how to describe it. Yet as she continued to walk, the impulse disappeared until it was gone.

"You okay, Bella?" Jasper whispered.

Bella nodded. "Yeah. Stupid Hale and her bitchy friends just got to me."

"Usually it takes a little more than two sentences," Jasper pushed cautiously.

The brunette shrugged, but before she could respond, Eric butted in. "Yeah, but dude, it's Rosalie Hale. It's kinda hard not to get annoyed with them."

"Them and their superior 'look-how-hot-we-are-don't-we-just-rock-tee-hee-hee' and 'our-shit-doesn't-stink-so-we're-awesomer-than-you' attitudes," Angela said.

The brunette nodded. "What they said." _I hope._

**A/N: HG: Thank you everyone for the reviews, both positive and honest, we really appreciate 'em. There's just one thing we should mention, and that is concerning the 'Katella' you may have seen in the story description.**

**Paige: Just to clear this up right off the hop, Katie is NOT Kate. She's not a Denali. Those sisters won't be in play for a long while yet.**

**HG: Indeed. This is Katie Marshall, a character who was mentioned very, very, VERY briefly in the *shudder* books. I believe she was mentioned as dating Eric, and may have been mentioned once or twice in passing, never to be seen or heard from, never to be spoken of again. So for our story, we're making her important. We're giving character to a character who never had any. And we hope you can tolerate or perhaps grow to accept her, as we have. :)**

**Paige: Some of you are taking issue with the gang's extracurricular activities. We've toned it down a bit so it isn't right in your face, but these are character qualities. Whether you like them or not, they're part of these characters, a piece of the whole. So we're not taking that piece out of them completely. I don't know about Hollow, but I don't like writing about Swiss Cheese... Holes? Holes in the characters, holes in the cheese. *Looks over at Hollow* Too far?**

**HG: Nah, you've just got me in the mood for cheese. At any rate, feel free to review if you want, and thanks again for the support, everybody!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series belongs to Meyer. My ideas belong to me. Paige's ideas belong to Paige. Our joint ideas belong to the both of us.**

_"Here we are again. I feel the chemicals kickin' in. It's getting heavy and I wanna run and hide, I wanna run and hide._

_I do it every time. You're killin' me now, and I won't be denied by you. The animal inside of you._

_Oh oh, I want some more. Oh oh, what are you waiting for? Take a bite of my heart tonight._ _Oh oh, I want some more. _

_Oh oh, what are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? Say goodbye to my heart tonight." ~ Animal by Neon Trees_

**Chapter Three**

**3.3.3**

She watched through the mirrors as a deep navy blue jeep sped down the road blaring rock out of the open windows. She had caught a flash of blonde and brown, but it was gone before she could pick out anymore details. The girl bobbed her head along to her own music that blared through the old car, her feet sticking out of the window while she lounged back in the seat. Tilting the little compact mirror in her hands, she angled it to see out of the car's side mirror and the movers unloading the enormous truck behind her.

Her aunt bounced out of the manor with a happy smile on her face, stopping next to the car. "Alice, the movers need to know which room to put your things in. Get off your lazy ass and come pick one out."

"Do we have an attic?" The girl asked, tilting her mirror again. The sun's light shot out in a beam, hitting one of the movers right in the face. _Bullseye._The girl smirked, watching him grunt and shake his head, trying to get the light out of his eyes without dropping the box of books.

The motherly woman stood in the way of the sun beam, sighing to herself with a soft smile. This move was more for her niece's sake than anything, she had seen how bored the girl was back in Mississippi. She was hoping this would a chance for a new start. New town, new people, new friends. "We do."

"I'll take it," the girl murmured, snorting when another of the movers tripped over an end table when the light caught his eyes. The smile vanished, however, when she saw the man get back up, and grab a box labeled _basement_. "Basement."

"What's that, honey?"

"Basement!" She opened the door, stepping around her aunt and stopped the man before he could enter the manor. "Hey there. Need some help?"

"Oh, no, that's fine," The man said. His eyes trailed down the lean, fit body of hers. She was average in height—looked to be a little over 5'8—with a toned physique that showed the young lady knew a lot about fitness. He could tell she was strong. But, regardless, a smile hooked onto his face. "Though I wouldn't say no to a glass of lemonade."

Her smile strained and the blues of her eyes turned to ice. _Did that son of a bitch just…?_ His face made it clear she did and Alice bit back her language. "All out of lemons, I'm afraid, but I _can_take that box off your hands. The basement is being redone and is still hazardous."

The man didn't have a chance to reply before she had dashed off into the house. Her aunt followed behind, eyes raking over the details of the new house. Hardwood floors, warm earthly coloured walls and furniture, antique collectables. She leaned against the wall next to the door that led down to the basement. "I thought you said you packed all of the basement boxes in the back of _my_ truck?"

"Guess I missed one," the young girl replied. _Stupid fucking mover guy..._She opened the door, setting the box down on the first step and quickly closed it again. She grabbed the master lock, hooking it around the metal hook, and locked it up safely.

"Alice," her aunt sighed. "What if we didn't catch him and that man wandered down there? You need to pay more attention to what you're doing. We can't afford mistakes like this."

"I know," she groaned. Alice winced at the look her aunt gave her. "I do know, Esme. I'm sorry, I'll pay more attention. Promise." She beamed when the woman smiled, and danced her back towards the front door. "Now, you have a job to go set up. History won't teach itself, you know. I'll keep an eye around things here."

The woman hesitated, chewing on her lip. "Are you sure? I can wait until they're done."

"No, no. You don't want to be rushed into settling... into things." Alice made a face, shaking her head. "That sentence felt weird. I'm serious though, mom. I've got everything around here under control. Go adventure the city. Town. We live in a town now, isn't that weird?"

Esme walked with her niece over to her truck. "Shouldn't you be the one out adventuring the town? Making new friends?"

"Pfft," Alice scoffed. "Who needs friends when you've got the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe waiting to be unpacked? Now go hit the town, momma Es, live it up."

Over-dramatically sighing to herself, Esme hoisted herself up into the truck. "My niece is a nerd. What do I do?"

"Says the _History_ teacher!" Alice laughed, shaking her head. She waved as her aunt peeled out of the driveway, crossing her arms over her chest and turned back to the rest of the movers. They fell over each other trying to look busy, having been caught ogling the two. Alice shook her head, sighing distastefully. "Fucking idiots."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Bella watched the characters on the television fly around the screen in a deadly firefight. Bullets whizzing around, swords clashing, battle cries, and blood spewing everywhere. Jeez. When did tv get so violent? She sunk back further into the couch, glancing down at her phone again. Jasper was on his way over to pick her up for the camping trip.

Every long weekend before the snowfall the group went out for their annual camping trip. Which was mostly just a weekend of drinking and partying in the woods by the res, with access to the cliffs and beach.

The brunette's skin prickled, the padding of James' footsteps echoing in her ears. He stopped in the entranceway of the living room, leaning against the wall. His dark eyes took in the duffle bags and hiking boots, the ratty old tent folded and tied up by the door. "What's up, kid?"

"I'm not a kid," Bella sighed. "I'm eighteen years old, and it's none of your business."

James scoffed. "Is that so? If you're such an adult, then when are you moving out?"

"Try as I might, I cannot rip myself away from your winning personality." The sarcasm dripped from her words, so much that James could almost see it. He smirked. "That and I'm also piss-poor broke."

Launching himself into Charlie's old recliner, James snatched up the remote and changed the channel. "Maybe if you didn't spend all your cash on booze and smokes, you could be out on your own by now."

"Who needs to buy when I can just steal from you?" Bella snarked back. Her phone vibrated and she got to her feet, stuffing her feet into the hiking boots. "I'm heading off for the weekend. Try not to burn Charlie's house down while I'm gone."

He waved her off with a huff, eyes glued to the screen. "Yeah, yeah. Don't fall off a cliff. Or do. Makes my job easier."

"Right. Job. I'm surprised you remember what those are."

The brunette swung her bags and the tent over her shoulder, oblivious to how heavy it should have been, and hopped down the front steps. Jasper sat in his jeep, rocking out to his music, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

Bella knocked on the door, startling him. "Yo! Pop the trunk!"

The blonde clicked a button and jumped out, but by the time he got to the back to help his friend, she'd already thrown the gear in back as if she were carrying feathers. Jasper stared at her for a moment in surprise. Bella had never been physically weak—nor would Jasper insinuate such a sexist thing to any woman, regardless of her size—but he'd never known her to exhibit that kind of strength before. Or had he?

_They're probably not that heavy,_ he thought. Then he frowned. _No, that sounds sexist. Crap. Forget it._He shook his head. "You get everything you need?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Yeah, genius. It's just a camping trip."

They jumped into the jeep and Jasper revved it up. "True, but you never know. We might switch up the location or do something different for a change."

"Different? Yeah, right." Bella laughed. "We'll drink, get high and listen to Eric try to scare us with his lame ass ghost stories. It'll be the same as always, which means it's gonna be fun and we are gonna have huge hangovers tomorrow."

"Good thing I brought my special hangover remedy," Jasper said.

"More weed?"

"Ibuprofen, Dumbbells," Jasper said. Bella gave him an inquisitive look and he shrugged. "I've been holding onto that one for a while now, but it never felt like a good time to use it." The brunette continued to stare. "What?"

"You… are such a dork," Bella said, guffawing.

The blonde grumbled and rolled his eyes. But he was content. He'd been worried about his best friend ever since that night in the woods—which, coincidentally they were basically going into again, but this time with more people. Bella played it off as them being too wasted to think and see straight. Jasper, however, knew better.

He'd seen and smelled the blood. He'd felt genuine terror at the creature staring back at him and felt it knock him away. The memories had stuck with him, being drenched in your best friend's blood wasn't something you just forgot. One thing he hadn't told Bella was that he'd dreamt about that night every now and again, sometimes as a nightmare, sometimes as a distant dream.

The worst had been a few days ago, when he woke up screaming in terror. His mother had run in to check in on him and found him a mess of tears and sweat. She'd held him while he let out his sobs, easing him with her comforting words. Jasper was afraid of telling Bella about it. He knew how she was when it came to talking about serious things and emotions like that. She had them, but expressing them was not her strong suit. Never had been. There was usually a lot of swearing, glaring, and her telling people to mind their own damn business.

"Hey, Jas," Bella's voice broke Jasper from his thoughts and he glanced at her when he stopped at a red light. She was watching him. "You good, brah?"

Jasper nodded. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Her brow furrowed. "Because I know when you're lying to me."

"School's being a pain in the ass," he lied. He made sure to add the right inflection at the end and even looked at Bella again to show he was being honest. Sort of. He turned his eyes back to the road, however, keeping a straight face and doing his best to avoid looking suspicious. He knew he wasn't the best liar, but he was aware of most of his tells. Bella didn't say anything after, so Jasper assumed she was satisfied.

She wasn't, but Bella decided to drop the subject for the time being and ask later. She could be nosey when she had to be, and anything that was Jasper's business was damn well hers. She cared too much about him to let him off the hook, but she wasn't exactly looking forward to that conversation herself. Comforting people wasn't something she was good at, and the few times she had tried over the years were the most awkward moments of her life.

Not long after, Jasper pulled the jeep to a stop and they got out. Jasper grabbed the heaviest of the bags before Bella could and they walked together in silence until they came to a clearing where they saw their other friends already waiting for them.

"Hey, everybody!" Jasper said, waving.

"Yo Bellybutton and Jazzman!" Katie shouted. "What the fuck is up, guys?"

"Did she just call me 'Bellybutton'?" Bella asked. Jasper giggled. "O… kay then."

Katie came over and hugged them both, her arm around the brunette tighter, holding her closer. "I can't believe it's been two weeks since we last partied this hard. This shit is gonna be epic." She turned to Bella, unable to keep the giddiness from her face. "I baked some of my special brownies, as you requested. And!" She beamed. "We brought all the ingredients for 'Katie's Uber Awesome Badass S'mores, Mothafuckas'!"

Jasper and Bella walked over with her to where the others were. They set up the tent without much problem, especially Bella, who was more energized than normal. She practically finished setting her things up within three minutes, if that.

"Damn, Bella," Eric said. "Did you take a hit off the energizer bunny or something?"

"The bunny doesn't share with nobody, bro," Tyler said.

"Who needs the damn bunny?" Bella asked. She beamed, flashing her friends a brilliant smile. Her friends gawked at her. "What?" Her smile dropped. "Guys, you know I love cute little bunnies… c'mon, what?"

"Your teeth," Angela said. She suddenly winced and struck a dramatic pose with a fake look of pain on her face. "The light! It burns us!"

The brunette frowned. "Huh?"

Her friends laughed and Tyler came over to pat her shoulder. "Your teeth are really white, that's all. Did you use Drano to brush them?" The brunette covered her mouth, all of a sudden self-conscious. Tyler snickered again. "Dude, I'm joking."

"Why are you making fun of me, then?" Bella muttered through her hand.

"Cuz we've never known you to have such white teeth before," Katie said, smirk in place. "Not that it's a bad thing. You've got great teeth." She held out her handheld mirror to Bella, who snatched it and checked her teeth.

They were right. Her teeth were… white. Not obnoxiously white, but definitely whiter than she'd ever seen them, with a very nice shine to them. It was bizarre. Not that she never brushed her teeth—she did regularly—but they'd never been this bright before.

_Weird,_ Bella thought. _I should use whatever toothpaste I've been using more often._

"So dudes, let's get the party started!" Ben shouted.

"What do you guys want to do first?" Jasper asked. Everyone shrugged. "Okay… what did everyone bring to do?" The others grinned and Jasper rolled his eyes. "Other than food, alcohol and pot, I mean." The grins dropped. "That's what I thought." He smirked. "I have some suggestions. We could fish, go for a swim, hike, commune with the wondrous beauty that is nature…" He looked around and smiled. "What do you guys say?"

The girls exchanged look, Katie already pulling her light sweater off. "Swimming!"

Eric's eyes widened. "Hell yeah!"

"No perverts allowed," Bella snarked, poking him in his chest. She watched his eager face fall and grinned.

The pout was almost painful in his voice. "But...but you're going to enjoy it as much as I would."

"More." The grin on her face turned wolfish and Eric shifted uncomfortably. He'd never seen that look in her dark eyes before; challenging and wild, like a silent dare. For him to do what, he didn't know, but he back down quickly and nodded.

"Okay. Maybe we can go look for some wood for the fire tonight?" He asked, looking around at the other guys.

They all nodded, not really paying attention and when Eric scurried off to join them, Bella hummed. She felt satisfied, like an itch that had been scratched, watching him run off with his tail between his legs. It almost felt like she had won, at what she had no idea, but it felt good.

The boys strolled off into the woods, whistling like the Seven Dwarves, Jasper with a hatchet in his hands. Bella turned to look at the girls who were grabbing towels and marching towards the little pond they'd stumbled on all those years ago. She wasn't sure if pond was the right word, since there was a small waterfall that fell into it.

Not exactly uncommon with all the hills and cliffs around the woods, but it was deeper than most, surrounded by rock and bushes, like Mother Nature had sculptured a natural pool for the woods' inhabitants.

A couple minutes later, the girls pushed through the bushes and came to their pond. Three years ago, the long weekend had be a rare sunny one, and this spot in the woods, with the water crashing down onto the pond, had been breathtaking. Every time Bella looked at it, that was all she could see. She had spent a month trying to capture the scene in ink.

Katie finished kicking off her pants and dropped her towel on the smooth rocky surface. She raced across to the wall of the cliff beside the waterfall, already climbing. "Guys, I'm feeling wild this year. This is our last before everyone moves away to start their corporate lives. Become another cog in the machine. We need to use this weekend to get in touch with our spirit animals, and live life to the fullest out here. One last wild, unbridled hurrah before we're chained to The Man!"

The two girls down below watching their friend climb up higher than their diving perch. Angela frowned uneasily. "Hey, that's great and all, but I really don't feel like cutting this trip short to rush you to the hospital. Take it easy, Tarzan."

"Relax, chica." Katie said, stopping at the next ledge above theirs. It was about twenty feet up from the water and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. The girl stepped towards the edge, holding her hands up and took a deep breath. "Bella, where are you going? This is going to be the coolest thing you've ever seen!"

Angela watched Bella disappear into the trees. "You know, I really can't blame her for not wanting to scrape you off the rocks."

"You guys are totally lame!" Katie whined. She shoved away the fear and dizziness of being so high up. "I'm jumping!" She was jumping, she was going to jump! Look how high she was! The girl took another shuddering breath, searching for her courage. Maybe Angela would talk her out of it? "Here I go!" But the girl down below only watched on with a nervous smile. "This is it!"

"_**Wooohooohoooo!"**_

It wasn't so much of a scream as it was a howl of joy and excitement. Katie almost toppled off the edge in surprise, looking up above her to the top of the waterfall. "Oh my..." Her words died off, mouth falling open while she watched Bella launch herself off the top of the cliff. "Are you crazy?!" She screamed at her friend who shot down past her, disappearing again in an explosion of water.

That was, like, sixty feet up!

Angela forced her jelly legs to move, trying to breathe past her panic. "Bella!" She raced into the water, searching for her friend she was sure was dead. "G-Get someone, Katie! Go get Jasper! Bella, oh my God, Bella!"

Both girls shrieked when Bella popped back up from the water with the biggest smile on her face. "Dude, did you guys see that?"

"You bitch of a bitch!" Angela screamed, slapping the girl's shoulder. "I thought you were dead! You scared me so bad, Bella, I'm gonna kill you!"

The brunette laughed, trying to block her friend's assault. "I'm fine. Angie, I'm fine! Calm down!" She wrapped her arms around the girl, holding her steady until she stopped yelling and struggling. "See? I'm fine. It was fun!"

"Bella," Katie shouted from her own perch. "That was wicked, but when I get down there, I'm kicking your ass for scaring me so bad."

Feeling bold from her friend's daring actions, Katie dove into the pond down below. She resurfaced next to the other two, punching Bella in the arm. Bella only chuckled again. "Seriously guys, it's fine. You should try it, I've never felt such a rush."

"Uh, no." Angela said. "We're not suicidal. You are _so_ lucky you didn't hurt yourself, and if I catch you back up there, I'm telling Jasper to drag you home."

"Fine," she groaned. "Wish I went to gather firewood."

Katie's head whipped up. "Hell no, we're _much_ more fun. There will be no pouting this weekend, not when – hey! Is that a new tattoo?"

With no time to reply, Bella's head was pushed forward to reveal the back of her neck. Deep purple stars trailed and faded from it down her spine. They matched the crescent moon and group of stars by her bellybutton on her stomach. "New-ish, I guess. I got them at the start of the school year."

"I was thinking of getting a tattoo. Ben's name or something." Angela said, running her fingers along the ink.

Both the other girls snorted. "Right. Angie getting a tattoo," Katie repeated. "That'll be the day.

"I could _so_ get a tattoo!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

By the time the girls were finished playing around in the pond, the guys had finished setting up the camp site. Lawn chairs were scattered around the enormous fire pit, with a small blaze already going, and they had taken the bench seats from Tyler's van and brought them out to sit by the fire. Ben was there, laying down the length, phone in his hands.

Angela skipped over, sitting on his stomach and stashed the phone in her pocket. Rule number one on their annual trip was no cell phones. "Have fun in the woods, babe?" She kissed his cheek and sighed happily as she removed herself from her shorter boyfriend's waist.

"You know it." Ben cracked his eyes open, a smirk on his face. He reached over for the cell again, but Angela smacked his hand away. "Aw."

"Mine now," she said. "Who could you possibly be texting anyways, we're all here?"

"He's friend cheating on us!" Katie gasped playfully.

"Wha – how could you!" Angela clutched her heart while Katie and Bella chuckled. "Where are Tyler and Eric at?"

"Tyler got a sliver so we had to call it quits early," Ben said, angling his head toward Tyler's tent. "I'm almost positive I saw a tear when he wrapped the Band-Aid around his finger. No clue about Eric."

Tyler popped his head out of his tent, a cloud of dust billowing out. "Fuck you, man!" he laughed, climbing out with a little bag. "Look what I found, a makeup bag! Who wants a makeoverrrr!"

"Hey! That's _my_tent!" Katie squawked when she recognized the bag. "And _my_ bag!" A couple of the others snorted, giving her a look, and she tried in vain to fight off a blush. "It's not regular makeup, it's face paint. For, like, tribal stuff and cool shit."

Angela groaned as she took another drag from the blunt. "Not more of your spirit animal, wilderness heart mumbo jumbo."

"Seriously," Bella agreed, falling back into a lawn chair. Her eyes lit up at the unopened beer in the cup holder. "What's going on with you?"

Sighing, Katie snatched up the bag. She took the stump next to Bella's chair, tossing the bag down by their feet. "I don't know, man. I'm just freaking out about university and shit. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing with my life, and my parents are stuffing careers and families and down payments and bills down my throat. I just wanted to get as far away from all that stuff as possible this weekend."

The brunette studied her friend's face. She could see the exhaustion and fear in her eyes. She was honestly worried about the rest of her life. Didn't most people have life crises in their fifties? Bella sighed, leaning down to grab the bag. She rifled through it, looking around the group and groaned. "Aw, hell, everybody line up. I'll paint ya."

Jasper caught her look and when she jerked her chin in Katie's direction. He looked over at her hopeful and excited face, frowning in concern. "Yeah, I'm in. Sounds kinda fun, I guess."

"I call blue everyone get your own color!" Eric shouted, sprinting through the campsite. He jumped over one of the chairs, skidding to a stop in front of Bella, and stuck out his face. "Make me look hot, Bella."

She looked back down into the bag. "She only brought face paint, not a mask. Sorry, bro."

"Burn!" Tyler cackled. "Wow, somebody get the boy some ice!"

One by one, Bella painted everyone's face. The classic cheek lines, dots, stars, designs down their necks, or colorful circles on their eye. Anything she could think of that looked semi-tribal. They often made trips down to the res, knowing a couple kids who lived there. Jacob Black and Leah Clearwater were the ones they hung out with the most whenever they went—although Bella had never been fond of Jacob—both coming from a long family line. Jacob's grandfather had even been a Chief. So they had all kinds of artifacts and memorabilia from the tribes back then.

Since this had been Katie's idea, the whole weekend really. She'd organized it this year. Bella decided to save the Tribal Chief's markings for her. Dark eyes stared intently at the girl's face and Katie tried her hardest to stay still. Which was always harder when you were focusing on not movie, and definitely _not_ because Bella's big brown eyes were watching her. And for sure not because her face was so close, or her strong but gentle hands holding her still. Nope.

Bella watched the green face paint slide against Katie's pale skin like butter. It left bold streaks behind it, like she was painting a canvas, and was slowly become consumed by it, like all her art. Katie felt herself shudder at the intensity of Bella's gaze and was thankful the others were busy roasting hotdogs and marshmallows.

The brunette reached around, holding Katie's hair up off her neck, bringing the swirling design down it. She blew on it, trying to dry it before she let the hair go so it wouldn't get rubbed off by the collar of the girl's shirt. Katie bit her lip painfully, squeezing her eyes shut.

Finally Bella sat back with a grin that was more and more commonly looking wolfish. Different than the little half smile they were used to. "There, perfection!"

"Bella, come make your dinner," Angela said. It was getting harder and harder guarding the hotdogs for her friend. The boys had already finished their thirds.

Katie watched the girl get up, stretching her long limbs and go sit next to Angela. She sighed to herself, jumping when another presence sat beside her. She looked up at Jasper who had an annoyingly knowing look in his eye, and scowled. "What's up, Blondie?"

"Oh, I think you know."

She huffed to herself, crossing her arms over her chest. The others interacted with each other, like the scene of a movie playing out before the two of them. Oblivious to their audience. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well fine, if you're going to make me _say_it," Jasper taunted. He lowered his voice even if he knew that the others couldn't hear them over the crackle of the fire or their laughter. "You like Bella."

"Of course I do," Katie scoffed. "All of us do, we wouldn't hang out with her if we didn't."

Jasper rolled his light eyes. "Don't be a child, you _like-_like her."

Silent moments passed between the two, the girl unable to deny this truth. Jasper waited patiently for her until she was ready to speak. Sure, he was teasing about it before, but he really was there to talk with her about it. Help her out. She was his friend and couldn't keep it to herself much longer, that kind of thing would eat a person up.

After a while, Katie shifted. Her eyes rested on the girl they spoke of, watching her stare into the fire, lost in her thoughts while the others laughed and horsed around beside her.

"Can you blame me?" She asked with a weak laugh. "Her eyes could stop a rhino dead in its tracks, she's so funny and creative it takes my breath away, and she has this cold strength that even Rosalie wouldn't blink at. Did you see those two the other day?" Another sigh racked her body, this one full of longing. "But mostly it's because I know that hard shell hides and broken, dark little bird that needs help healing."

"You know, I read something the other day." Jasper said. He chewed on his lip, setting back into the chair. "It said to 'be careful when trying to fix a broken person, for you may cut yourself on their shattered pieces'. You know what I'm saying?"

Katie furrowed her brows, looking up at the boy. "And how many times have you cut yourself on Bella's broken pieces?"

"Too many to count," he replied. "But she's more than my best friend, so I do it knowingly. Happily."

"Because she's worth it." Katie said. "I don't just _like_-like her, Jasper, this isn't some schoolyard crush."

He nodded. "I can see that. I just... you're my friend too, Katie. I don't want to see you get hurt, and you _will_get hurt, sometime somehow, Bella is going to hurt you. She won't be able to help it."

"I can live with that," Katie decided. She stood up, an excited look on her face. "Hey, Bella, wanna go for a walk?"

"Wha—" The brunette turned to gawk at the redhead with half a hotdog hanging from her mouth and another one dripping ketchup in her hands, confused by the sudden request and why she would ask only her. Angela nudged her, however, and after she finished what was left of the hotdog, Bella got up and walked over to her.

"Uh, sure," she said. She looked to Jasper, who was grinning as if he knew something she didn't, which only further confused her. Katie, however, bumped her and the two started to walk away from their friends.

Bella watched Katie as they moved further away from their campsite. Why would Katie ask her and her only to for a walk? It was strange. Why not have Angela come along, or Jasper, or both, even? She wanted to talk about something, didn't she? Something serious. Great. Was she going to have to give advice – she _told_ them that wasn't her thing.

"So, Bellybutton," Katie said. Her green eyes moved to brunette as she looked her over, first focusing on the two tattoos—especially the new one—before meeting Bella's eyes. Katie had always felt Bella had extremely pretty eyes. They were the first thing she'd noticed when they met years ago and to this day, they had always drawn her in. If only she could swim in them…

"Where did Bellybutton come from as a nickname?" Bella asked. She was used to being called a lot of things for a nickname—most of which weren't the best, and those usually came from Jasper—but this was perhaps the oddest one yet.

Katie shrugged. "Because yours is cute and I dig the tat you've got by it?"

Bella glanced down at her exposed middle. "Oh. Um. Thanks."

Katie bit her lip. She wanted to do this the right way, because she knew how Bella was when it came to these kinds of things. Jasper's warning came to mind, but it wasn't like she couldn't figure it out without him telling her. That was why she'd opted to go about it this way, by broaching the subject gently. She felt nervous, though. And equally excited.

"How are your classes going?" Katie asked.

"Fine."

"That's good." Katie nodded.

The brunette frowned. "Is everything okay, Katie?"

Katie's cheeks took on a light pinkish hue. "W-wha? Oh, yeah. Why wouldn't they be?"

"It's just…" Bella studied her, taking in the faint blush and the fact that Katie was nervously looking away from her. "You're being so… serious. That's not like the you I'm used to, you know?" Bella thought back to earlier when Katie had talked about her school worries and now this. It wasn't that she couldn't be serious, but Bella was used to her being the cheerful, laid back, lovable pothead. All of this was different.

"I'm okay," Katie said. "The school shit has really gotten to me, you know? Like, before now, I never put much thought into it, but I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I realize that I have to deal with a lot. That's all." She snuck a look at Bella and saw the brunette was eyeing her curiously. "You said I'm not the you you're used to? Is the me you know… is that a good thing?"

Bella coughed awkwardly. She stared at Katie, trying to find why she would ask her such a bizarre question, and why she sounded so...vulnerable. Was it a good thing, what did that mean? Katie was Katie. She'd known her for years and knew her to be, as she'd thought before, a good natured pothead with a good sense of humor that she got along with well.

Bella remembered when she first met Katie, in fact. It had been in fifth grade, during a time when Jasper was Bella's only friend and vice versa. Bella had never been a social butterfly outside of Jasper, mostly because she felt people sucked and she wanted nothing to do with anybody. Or, if she was being honest with herself, she could admit in her own head that maybe because it was just one less person to leave her in the end. Her best friend had attempted on several occasions to try and help her connect with others, but his attempts had always failed.

Her mother's abrupt ditching when she was little had really messed her up, and Charlie's death obliterated any chance she'd had left after that. But that was a thought for another day – or never. You know.

However, some of that changed when she met Katie Marshall the first week of school. It was during the first week, in fact, in art class. Bella remembered it well. She'd sat in the back of the room, arms crossed with a 'stay away' look on her face. Most of the students obliged her. Katie did not. She'd sat next to Bella as if she were oblivious to the scowl the brunette had shot her, then turned to her and smiled.

"_This classroom stinks, doesn't it?"_the redhead had asked. She spoke as if the words were forbidden somehow and she enjoyed being able to say them—something that would become a recurring theme for Katie as her language became more crass.

Bella had just stared at her. Her thoughts at the time had been '_who are you and stop talking to me,'_ and yet here was Katie, just smiling all friendly like at her, talking to her. Which she did again the next day. And again and again the whole week until Bella, despite her cold demeanor, talked back.

Bella hadn't understood why she'd talked to her. Katie spoke with other students, but she talked with Bella the most. And soon enough, somehow, the two became friends despite Bella's distance. It was Katie who introduced her to Angela the year after, in fact, and helped Bella and Angela connect. It was also that year that Bella introduced the girls to Jasper, leading to a friendship forming between all four of them. Then, in seventh grade, when they started at Forks High, they met the boys.

It was then that Katie became the stoner she knew now. She'd gotten Bella and Angela into it too, not that they were bothered by it. Pot had become an escape for Bella that she greedily clung to. Many times before, after and even during school, the girls would leave to get high together without a care in the world.

Katie had, arguably, been Bella's second friend outside of Jasper, even though she'd never really seen her that way. She saw her as a friend, of course, but never thought of her thought strongly… until now, at least. The more she thought about it, it made her realize how much of a friend Katie had been to her over the years. Bella wondered why she'd never made that connection before. Why did it take until now, when it was just them, for her to come to that conclusion?

"Bella?"

Katie's voice punctured her thoughts. "Huh-whoa!" Bella toppled over and fell face first to the ground, tripping over a nearby rock. She groaned as Katie burst into giggles and shot a glare at her. "Not funny."

"It _so_ is," Katie disagreed, giggling even more. She extended her hand down to the brunette, who scowled at the hand for a moment before accepting her help. Katie was startled by the strength she felt in Bella's hand. She'd always known the girl to be strong, sure, but she felt as though Bella's hand could crush hers if she applied enough pressure. Fortunately, Bella's hand retracted after she was up.

The brunette dusted herself off and sighed. "Damn rocks."

Katie's giggling slowly died down. "Clumsy ass."

Bella rolled her eyes and looked at Katie, who was eyeing her with mirth in her green eyes. But there was something else, too, and as the mirth died away, whatever it was became more prevalent. But Bella had no clue. She wasn't good at reading emotions.

Then she remembered Katie had asked her a question. Bella's lips pursed together, because how the hell was she supposed to answer that kind of question?

"So…" Katie trailed off, uncertain.

"Yes!" Bella blurted, louder than she'd intended. Katie flinched back a little and Bella grimaced. "I mean, yes. You're my friend, Katie. You're funny, and nice. All that stuff." She ran a hand through her hair. "You're cool. So yeah."

Katie's cheeks took on a pinkish tone again. "Thanks. Right back at you." Bella's cheeks felt warm as Katie bit her lip. "So, listen, Bella… I was just…" She looked sheepishly at the brunette, who was eyeing her with a mix of curiosity and what looked like embarrassment. Katie gulped. "You know what, fuck it."

Bella frowned, but before she had the chance to say anything, Katie walked up to her, and connected her lips to Bella's for a kiss. Everything inside of Bella froze as she felt the soft, warm lips touch hers. She felt something swirl inside of her, but it was swallowed by a surge of panic that gripped at her heart. And when the kiss registered with her, she reacted and almost instantly pushed Katie away.

Katie grimaced. "Bella, I… shit, I'm sorry."

Bella just stared at her. Her mind was racing with different thoughts. "Katie," she said, shaking her head. The fear was seeping through her. There was that other feeling, however, the one she'd felt before the fear hit her. She didn't know what it was, but she felt it now, as if it was fighting with the fear.

Katie held her gaze and shook her head. She made her decision. "Just once, Bella. Please." She wanted to feel Bella's lips on hers and vice versa, because in her mind, Katie hoped it might help fix at least one of the broken pieces inside the brunette. She was willing to let go after. She just wanted it once, uninterrupted.

"Katie, listen," Bella sighed. She gave the redhead a pleading look as the emotions waged war inside of her, especially the one she couldn't identify. "You're my friend, and I care for you, but… please, don't. It won't end well for you."

And yet, as she looked into the green eyes of her friend, that odd sensation grew stronger and stronger. What was it? Desire? Lust? She couldn't tell. She didn't understand it or why she was feeling it. This was Katie. A friend of hers. A fun, attractive friend whom she did care for, yes, but… just a friend. Right?

Then, she felt something else. A different kind of feeling that bubbled up inside of her, one that felt almost primal. Wild. Animalistic. Bella could not explain or control it as it roared to life inside of her, mixing with the other feeling as if they were holding hands.

As if on instinct, Bella moved closer to Katie and wrapped her arms around the five foot six girl, and in one fluid motion, she kissed her. The fear and wariness had been pushed back by these new emotions. Bella did not think. She merely felt.

Katie returned the kiss without question as she wrapped her arms around the brunette. Bella could feel just how soft her mouth was, as well as how warm her body was as she held the girl close. Katie's scent, a mixture of pot and a smell that Bella could only describe as hers, flowed into her nostrils, too. She liked the smell. A lot.

The kiss became kiss_ing_ as the two girls' mouths moved together in a gentle dance. Eventually, they lay onto the ground, which was soft earth, as the kissing sped up a little. It was not passionate or lustful, but rather two mouths that were curious and uncertain, tentatively testing the other. Emotions were there, blazing within each, yet neither knew what to think or feel about them.

They continued kissing as they held one another. Bella felt warmth inside of her combined with the two feelings. She did not understand them, and yet, in the moment, she did not care. She was… enjoying herself. Katie tasted good, smelled good, felt good. And she was a damn fine kisser, too.

Soon enough, the kissing subsided. Bella rolled off of Katie, breathless. Her heart thundered in her chest as she sat up, emotions pulsing through her. Katie just gawked at the sky, unable to see straight, like she'd been punched in the face.

"Holy fuck," she breathed out. "That… was fucking amazing."

She slowly sat up and glanced at Bella, who was panting for air the same as her. There was a strange look in the otherwise normal brown eyes, which worried Katie because she couldn't read what was going on in Bella's head.

Bella, wordlessly, stood up. She couldn't decide what to think or feel as she looked down at Katie, whom she offered her hand to. Katie accepted and she pulled Katie to her feet. The two continued to stare into each other's eyes as Bella tried to figure out what she was feeling and what to do.

"Katie…" Her voice sounded distant. She felt numb and excited at the same time. It scared her.

Suddenly, she heard a rustling noise. It sounded close. Bella's body went on full alert, reacting as if something else was controlling it. She whipped her head in the direction of the sound as everything tensed up. Flashes of something large and dangerous staring back at her danced across her vision as her heartbeat sped up.

Katie. She had to protect her. She pulled the redhead and held her close to shield her. Katie looked up at her in confusion as Bella heard the noise again. This time, Katie heard it, but Bella held her firmly to keep her from looking. It was danger.

_Dangerdangerdanger._ Instinct took over. Bella curled back her lips and let out a loud snarl that ripped from inside of her and boomed through the area just as a deer jumped out from the trees. Its big eyes fixated on the two girls and, in a panic, it fled.

Bella's shoulders sagged as the fear subsided. Katie gently pulled away from her to watch the deer run off while Bella stared as memories played.

Katie turned to her, partly confused, partly fearful, and yet intrigued. "Bella? You okay?"

Bella didn't answer. She didn't know herself.

The shorter girl's mouth fell open, staggering backwards. "The fuck, man!" Blue flames stared back down at her, the whites of Bella's eyes dark like an animal's. Snarl still in place, Katie could see the elongated canines and took another step back, feeling fear swell up inside of her.

What just happened?


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Meyer owns the Twilight stuff. Paige and I own our ideas, separately and as a tag team. Team Hollow Paiges! Booyah!**

"_I was born of the womb of a poisonous spell, beaten and broken and chased from the land. But I rise up above it, high up above it, and see. _

_I was hung from the tree made of tongues of the weak, the branches, the bones of the liars, the thieves. Rise up above it, high up above it, and see._

_Pray to your God. Open your heart. Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark. Cover your eyes, the devil's inside… _

_One night of the hunter, one day I will get revenge, one night to remember, one day it'll all just end..." ~ Night of the Hunter by 30 Seconds to Mars_

**Chapter Four**

**4.4.4**

The short-haired girl sighed as she fingered the ring hanging from her navel, sometimes brushing a finger inside the deep depression, which made her smile, if only briefly. Alice was bored.

"Fuuuck!" she said, groaning.

Esme was gone, away at Forks High to set up her job as the History teacher on a Sunday, of all days. Most of their things were unpacked now, and Alice didn't want to read all of her precious Poe in one sitting. So here she was, playing with her bellybutton ring which, while entertaining, was not doing the trick like it normally did.

She let her shirt drop over her toned middle and jumped to her feet. With a sigh, she dug into her left pocket and pulled out her trademark lighter, then reached into her shirt pocket for her pack of cigarettes.

Smoking wasn't something she'd ever thought she would do in the past. Growing up, she'd always hated it, but... it helped her escape. From her loneliness, from her pain, from everything. It wasn't a crutch for her like some, but rather, an aid. One she used often, despite Esme's warnings and desire for her to avoid it. Alice moderated it for Esme's sake, but other than that, she didn't see a reason to care.

A life like hers, there wasn't a point in…

She stopped that train of thought, popped one out, put it to her lips, lit it, then blew out the delicious smoke, frowning when she saw she needed a new pack soon.

"Maybe I can steal some of Esme's," she said to herself as she stuffed the lighter back into her left pocket. She walked through their house with the cigarette dangling from her lips, trying to find something to do. _Do I go into the basement?_ She glanced in the basement's direction and shrugged. She'd been in there enough today.

She blew out more smoke when she felt her cell phone vibrate. "Yello?"

"_So what shenanigans have you gotten yourself into while I've been away?"_ Esme asked from the other end.

Alice laughed and sat down on the couch near her. "Oh, you know. I painted your room black, I looked up a bunch of porn on your computer, I think I might have misplaced your sword…" There was a sigh and Alice giggled. "Kidding. Well, except for the porn thing. You should see the shit I found. It's hot, Esme."

Esme groaned. "_Alice, I do not want to come home to a computer filled with images of lesbians. And if you touch my sword, young lady, your ass will be hanging from the walls. Am I clear on that?"_

Alice took a drag from the cigarette. "Yes, _Mom_."

"_Brat,"_ Esme said, chuckling despite her attempt not to. "_I'm calling because I have another hour or so for this meeting. They let us out for a quick break. Would you be a dear and start dinner, or are you incapable of cooking a decent meal without me?"_

"Fuck yes I can cook," Alice said. "Do you remember who you're talking to?" She puffed out more smoke. "I'm the best at _everything_ I do." She jumped up and strutted into their kitchen. "What are you in the mood for?"

"_Surprise me,"_ Esme said. "_Just don't make it 'special,' Missy. We need to keep our senses sharp since school begins tomorrow."_ Alice pouted. "_I can hear the pout, Alice. Save it. And don't you dare think of taking my you-know-whats. I want you to cut down on those."_She paused. "_Alright, I have to go. I love you, Alice."_

Alice, despite heaving out a sigh, smiled. "Love you too, Aunt Esme."

Esme hung up and Alice tossed her phone onto the table. She kicked her feet up and finished the cigarette, savoring it for as long as possible, before getting up and heading into the kitchen. She started searching around for something to eat. She was starving.

"Shit," Alice said, looking around. "Too many choices!" She glanced down at her athletic figure and grinned. "Good thing I have a fast metabolism." She beamed and started grabbing anything that looked like it would be tasty and began dinner, eagerly awaiting for her aunt to return from school—what a switch, the adult was coming home from school while the teenager cooked.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Esme sighed as she drove, keeping an eye out on the road. She frowned and pursed her lips, tapping on the steering wheel when she came to a stop at the red light. She hoped this was the best choice.

To most, it would probably seem odd. A twenty six year old woman with an eighteen year old 'daughter,' both of whom smoked on a regular basis—a fact Esme blamed herself for, as she was the one who ended up getting Alice into it in the first place several years ago—among other things. She had to convince the school board that Alice had been adopted by her following her mother's death. That was true. The other circumstances she'd used… not so much.

Esme sighed again as she turned the corner. She worried for the girl she saw as her own child. Alice was spirited and strong-willed, but arrogant and feisty. She didn't do well with authority figures and, at times, Alice had a bad habit of doing things her own way. She was just like Esme's deceased sister, right down to the foul mouth.

_Oh, Olivia,_ Esme thought. _What would you say to me if you saw her now? Would you be upset that I'd turned your daughter into what she is? Or would you be proud that she's so much like you?_ Esme glanced at her purse, aware of the cigarette pack laying within, and considered taking one. She wondered these things frequently. She hoped she was doing her sister proud, but she still worried.

It wasn't long before Esme pulled into their driveway. She removed herself from the car with her purse in tow, having decided against smoking. The smell of food reached her nose the second she walked inside, which brought a smile to her face.

"Alice!" she said, shutting and locking the door behind her. She walked into the kitchen and saw Alice with her legs propped up on the table, one hand busying itself with a cigarette, the other playing around with her belly piercing. Esme frowned. "Please tell me you finished dinner before you started this? I have zero interest in eating your bellybutton lint."

"My bellybutton is _clean_, thank you," Alice shot back, sticking her tongue out. "And yes, I did." She put the cigarette to her lips. "I'm just kicking back until you got home."

Esme shook her head. "You and your strange fetish."

"Would you rather I be obsessed with tits or asses?" Alice asked. "Feet, perhaps?"

"Your sarcasm is touching," Esme said, rolling her eyes as she set her purse down. "Put that out and let's have us a family meal, shall we? I told you I didn't want you smoking in the house anymore, young lady, and I would really prefer you tone it down anyways."

Alice pouted at her, giving her the trademark 'Puppy Stare,' another thing she'd somehow gotten from her mother. Esme grimaced and fought the desire to give in to the cuteness. She turned her back and opened the fridge, using it to shield herself.

She gave in regardless. "Fine. Finish your smoke, then let's eat."

She heard Alice laugh and closed the fridge to see Alice no longer had the cigarette. "Done."

Esme shook her head and walked over to her. "So what did you make for us tonight?"

"Steak, potatoes, salad, garlic bread, baked beans and my signature pasta," Alice said, smiling smugly as she pointed to each food item. Esme grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for? Fuck the formalities, I'm starving!"

"Indeed," Esme said. They sat down and started eating.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Esme scrubbed her plate while Alice sat at the table, her feet up once more as she rested her stomach. Once Esme finished, she joined the tall, pixie-haired girl, sitting next to her and patting her shoulder with an approving smile.

"That was splendid, Alice," she said.

"Told you," Alice said. "I rule at cooking."

Esme flicked the girl's nose. "Yes, but a little humility would be nice, dear. Being an arrogant bitch isn't going to win you friends when you start school tomorrow."

Alice scoffed. "Who gives a shit about friends?"

"You do," Esme said, giving her a stern look. "You're too isolated, Alice." Her look became gentle. "I worry about you. I know things aren't always easy when it comes to maintaining relationships, but good friends are better than none. You need to open up to people. Establish contacts. Then you can make them penpals when we…"

Alice frowned at her words and sat upright. "That's the problem, Esme. What's the point in making friends when we'll end up leaving in a few years anyways?"

"Because it's good for you and I worry," Esme said. "Please, Alice. Try?"

"Fine," Alice said with a nod.

Esme smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you. Now, rest your stomach. Tonight…" Her eyes glimmered as she stood up. "We hunt."

Alice nodded and got up. A few hours later, Esme found Alice in her room doing push ups. She was wearing a sleeveless crop top that left her stomach showing—as she preferred—and was doing them with just her left hand. She did fifteen in a row one handed before stopping and sitting up, a light coat of sweat on her body.

Alice beamed. "Ah, I love to sweat after a nice workout. It makes me feel so free."

Esme smirked. "And it makes you stink. When's the last time you bathed?"

"Yesterday," Alice said. She cracked her knuckles. "Is it time?"

Esme nodded and nodded for her to follow. They walked down into the basement, Esme flicking the light on without sparing a glance at the wall. The basement was gigantic. And filled with training equipment and supplies. Training dummies, weapon racks, weights, targets, a chest with keepsakes and souvenirs, body armor, and more.

Esme ran her fingers down her signature weapon, a longsword made of pure silver hanging close by. Esme smiled at the weapon as she touched the single 'scar' the blade possessed, which reminded her of the scar on her face. It was noticeable to anyone who saw, located on the right side of her face, dangerously close to her eye. She'd almost lost it, but thankfully, she did not.

The tall, caramel-haired woman turned to Alice. "Over here."

The two women walked over to a large, finely crafted table where a large map of the United States sat with tracking marks scribbled throughout. Esme retrieved another map and laid it out on top of it. This one was of Washington. Esme tapped her finger onto the location where 'Seattle' was written out.

"I received intel not long ago that there was activity reported near here," Esme said. "Unsolved brutal murders, missing people… the usual." She looked Alice in the eyes. "The evidence points to the fact that there are werewolves here, Alice. The most recent sighting was two weeks ago. There's no word on how big this pack is, but I don't care. We've been tasked with going out and finding anything we can."

Alice smirked. "Fuck yes."

"Alice," Esme said, giving her a warning look.

"What?" Alice said. "I've killed four wolves on my own, Esme. You trained me. I have the blood of a Hunter running through me, too. I kick ass. Those stinking, fucking creatures? They don't stand a chance against me or against you, because you're more badass than I am! For now, anyways." She winked and her smirk doubled in size. "Gimme a few years."

The taller woman let out another sigh. A smile tugged at her lips, but she pushed it down. "At any rate." She pointed to the map. "It's night. We should get going. Get into your gear and let's get going."

Alice gestured to her current attire. "Can't I dress like this?"

"Your bellybutton ring isn't going to kill a werewolf, Alice," Esme said, playfully flicking the girl's nose.

Alice snickered and proceeded to walk over to a trunk on another side of the room where their armor was kept. She stripped into her skivvies, then slipped into her usual attire: black padded pants, a tunic top, the chest and shoulder plates—they were much lighter, they just gave off the look that they were heavy—and then the boots and gloves. She slipped the arm guard onto her left arm since it was her dominant one, then grabbed her weapons.

"Don't forget your throat guard," Esme said. She'd already changed into her full attire, sporting the same dark colors that Alice had. She was covered in armor except for her Hunter's mask, which she was saving for the time being.

That was what they were. Hunters. An elite organization, trained to the peak of human perfection with only one purpose: protect humans from werewolves. The group had existed for years. Esme and Alice were only two members of the much larger, much more dangerous group. In fact, they came from a family of Hunters. Many of the women in the Platt family, including Olivia, Esme's sister, Alice's mother, had been a Hunter.

Alice was ready. Her specially-made sword sat at her left shoulder while her shield waited at the right. She had silver throwing knives around her waist, a dagger at her left hip, and a few 'surprises' she'd cooked up at the pouch located at her right hip. Alice grinned and grabbed her mask. It, along with every piece of armor she wore, was made out of pure silver, mixed in with leather and chainmail, or so Alice had heard. Either way, it did the trick when guarding against wolves.

"Are you ready, Alice?" Esme asked. She slipped the mask on as Alice did.

Alice gave her a thumbs up. "Let's kill some fucking werewolves."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"For the love of all things good in this world, Alice, just pick a station already!" Esme exclaimed. She couldn't stand the constant changing of music, two seconds of one song, eleven of another, half of this one, skipping her favourite.

The younger Hunter sighed, giving up and sat back in her seat. Nothing good was ever playing this late at night, which she had quickly come to the conclusion of her third night out Hunting with Esme. So she had made a playlist with all the best tunes to kill wolves to. "I didn't unpack my fucking iPod," she growled in frustration. So now they were stuck listening to _Salsa_ music.

Yeah, not exactly an asskicking theme.

"Doesn't matter, we're here," Esme said, pulling over into a short alley. She turned off the car and brought out a small map of the city of Seattle. "There's a squad of Hunters in the area who've noticed more wolf activity than they're used to around."

Alice looked up at her aunt with a frown. "Any Alphas?"

"Not that they reported," Esme replied. "Could be their pride though, wanting to bag an Alpha for themselves." All wolves were dangerous, that's what Esme had told her right from the beginning. They were a powerful animal with the cunning mind of a human, open to temptation. But like all species, there was a power pyramid between the beasts.

An Omega was the lowest rank and were not much of a fight to a seasoned Hunter. They were still stronger and faster than humans, but to a lesser degree. With the right skill and training, anyone could be put on the battlefield with one and have a fifty percent chance of walking away. Which was good because the number of Omegas out there were staggering.

Betas were less common, and more dangerous. They were faster and stronger than Omegas, could heal quicker and more severe wounds, and when they Changed, they were twice as bad. A squad of Hunters was ideal for this kind of kill, but Esme had trained Alice well. If you're careful and smart, it doesn't matter how strong an enemy you have.

Alphas... Alphas were uncommon. That last documented statistics, about a decade ago, had tagged two dozen Alphas known to be roaming the States. Two dozen packs of Betas, and perhaps an Omega or two. Alphas weren't known for wasting their time on the lowest rank. They were the biggest, strongest, fastest, and smartest wolf out there. Their power was matched by the calculating thought process of a master predator.

So when a Hunter killed one, word travelled around, and they rose the social ladder of the Order. More important assignments, honour, spotlight, and a chance at a seat amongst the Council.

A seat, Alice knew, that Esme had passed up to take care of her.

The younger Hunter pointed down at the map. "So you think they're around here."

"Yes." Esme took out a marker, circling the downtown area, and then off to the side of the city. "There's a lot of action that happens downtown here, they can get lost in it and go by unnoticed, as will their kills. Typically a prime spot for the underbelly of society. However, off to the east here there's access to the woods. They could lure their prey and shift without anyone knowing. I'll take a look around there, while you take this downtown area."

Alice nodded. "Got it."

"Wait, Alice," Esme grabbed the girl's arm before she could hop out of the truck. "Be careful. The others required our help for a reason. Their squad couldn't take Washington alone. That doesn't usually happen."

Rolling her eyes, Alice gracefully slid out of the truck. "I know, I know. Look both ways before crossing the street and all that good stuff."

"Alice," her aunt warned.

The girl hooked her sleek silver shield onto her back, blade already clipped to her belt. "It'll be fine, Momma Es. I've done this dozens of times now."

Esme sighed, the face of her older sister staring eagerly back at her. Ready to take on the world, and demolish anyone standing in her way. She wouldn't let her niece meet the same fate. "Stay in radio contact."

"Roger that, ten-four." Alice crackled into her hands. She tapped the ear piece in her ear to make sure it was on and working, winking at her aunt before she skipped back out of the alley. Alice slipped her silver mask on, pulling up her hood to block out prying eyes, and began her trek through the streets.

Washington was colder than she was used to, though New York had been fairly chilly as well. She missed the heat of Phoenix, and the atmosphere of Mississippi. Throughout her short life, so far, the girl and her aunt had moved around excessively. Bouncing from one city to the next. The longest she ever spent in one place was her birthtown of Mississippi, until she turned five.

She didn't mind the moving so much anymore. The places they saw were fun and beautiful. Esme had been tasked with some advisory business in Greece for a month. Alice knew for sure, someday, she would go back there. There were downsides to moving so much, too. She liked to play it off for Esme's sake, it wasn't the woman's fault so there was no reason for her to feel guilty, but Alice was lonely.

For the first little while she had treated her new homes like the old one. She went to school, met new people, made new friends, and settled in nicely. Until Esme said they were picking up and leaving again. Alice had to say goodbye to her new friends, and start the process over again in the next city. The fourth time they left, Alice was starting to give up. She dind't see the point of making new friends just to lose them in a couple months. A year if she was lucky.

Once she got older and the Hunter legacy was revealed to her, it made things more difficult. She couldn't invite people over to her house all the time. Esme's gear might be out, or other Hunters might stop by in an emergency. Which was understandable. She dealt with it. But her friends wanted to know her better, boys and girls wanted to get closer. Relationships struggled with such a big secret, but Alice had to keep them away. She couldn't bring them into her world, she couldn't risk innocent lives.

There was no point in making flimsy friendships that would fall apart with the next move, and she was _so_ tired of pretending for Esme. The last couple of years she had given up. No more pretenses. She came and went and did as she pleased, her only friend Esme, her only focus Hunting, school, and dance. Relationships were nice to read about, or even fantasize about, but nothing more. She didn't have the time or heart for it.

"_Anything on your end, yet?"_ Esme's voice crackled through the ear piece.

Alice sighed. "There's a suspicious looking Pepsi can across the street from me. I think we should bring the fucker in for questioning, send over some backup."

"_You're a little cheeky today, you know that?"_

"I can't imagine why," she replied, her voice too cheery. "I'm just standing out here, freezing my fingertips off because the other guys are too lazy to do their patrols."

"_It's not their fault, honey, they... hold on. I've got movement."_

The Hunter perked up. "Esme? Do you need help? Aunt Esme?"

"_Shh. I'm fine, Alice. Just keep patrolling."_

Of course she was fine. This was Esme Platt, not some lowly new recruit. Alice sighed, kicking the Pepsi can down the sidewalk.

"Wow, those are cool contacts." The words were slurred and feminine, and Alice looked up to see a couple stumbling towards another little alley. Great. A live, drunken peepshow. Nothing classier than giving it up in an alley, probably against a dumpster. "You're really going all out with this whole _wolf_ thing, hey?"

Alice paused mid-step. What were the chances this was an _actual_ wolf and not some guy playing a move to get into her pants? The Hunter scowled, knowing she had to go make sure, and followed the couple down the alleyway.

As she suspected, the blonde woman was leaning agiainst the dumpster, swaying side to side, struggling to keep her head up. The man was laughing at her, standing on the other side of the alley, leaning against the building with his arms crossed. Well at least he wasn't a creep trying to take advantage. "Babe, you're completely missing it. Hunting is no fun when the prey can't even run. I gave you a headstart and everything."

"I agree," Alice announced, touching the handle of her blade.

The woman slid down the dumpster to sit on the ground, unable to keep herself up any longer. The man, however, spun around to face Alice, bright blue eyes reflecting the moonlight. The whites were black like a wolf's, and his fangs were slightly poking out of his lips.

Not a pervert taking advantage, but a wolf looking for a game.

Well, Alice had no problem obliging.

She stood in the middle of the alleyway, cutting off his escape, silver blade in one hand and shield in the other. "Be a gentleman and tell your date to look away. I don't want to emotionally scar the poor dear." She said.

He crouched low, feral snarl ripping from his throat. Alice never could get over how animalistic the wolves were under their human face. "You won't walk away with your life, little Hunter."

"Funny," Alice shot back, bracing herself. They always charged first, it was almost textbook. "I was going to say the same thing to you, mutt."

With a roar, the man hurtled towards her, jaws snapping and hands curled into claws. Alice heaved her shield up, toppling back into the wall with the wolf pressed against her. He growled, hissing in pain whenever the skin of his hands touched the silver shield, his face inches from hers.

Those fangs cut through the air like butter, closer and closer to her mask. One bite, one little nick from them and it was over. You'd contract the Lycan-virus. Esme's warnings had been horror stories of squad mates having to put down their own Shield Brothers or Sisters before they turned.

Alice put her foot up against the wall behind her, kicking off with all her strength. The man staggered backwards, catching himself on the pavement of the ground. Alice yanked her sword down through the air towards him, huffing when he rolled to the side and she got only cement. He jumped back up to his feet, only for her to spin around and kick him in the gut.

She blocked his wild hits with her shield, every yelp and shriek of burning pain making her smirk. She fucking loved silver.

"Shit!" she cursed, his boot launching out and kicking her blade to the ground. He swung at her and she ducked, that same boot coming back and sending her skidding further into the alley. The wolf grinned, pouncing at her while she was still down, and Alice gasped.

The silver of her shield brushed against her fingers, having been dropped and slid off. She stretched her arm, wide eyes watching the wolf shooting towards her, and jerked her hand out painfully to grab it.

She pulled the shield back around in front of her, crying out painfully as his weight landed on top of her. She pushed the shield up into his chest, keeping his face away from hers, while reaching down to her belt. Alice reached down to her belt, struggling to keep the wolf up off her and grab a pouch. She brought it up to her mouth, puling the tie off with her teeth. The bag came undone in her hands, a piece of cloth with powder resting on it.

Some of the silver powder fell down into her own face in the struggle, and she took a deep breath before letting go of her shield. The wolf fell down, even closer to her face, his hands on either side of her head. His smile widened, the arrogant bastard thinking he'd won.

Confusion entered those wolf eyes when Alice yanked her mask up with her free hand. "_Cheeeeeckmaaaate_," she sang, blowing the powder into his face.

The man snarled and shrieked, rolling off away from her. He wiped and scratched at his eyes, howling in pain. The skin around them went beat red, the skin burnt and covered in rash, like she'd shot him with pepper spray. "Bitch!" He roared, jerking up to his feet, pulling his hands back.

Alice gagged at the blood in his eyes before pushing the repulsion away. No time for that. She grabbed one of the throwing knives from her belt and threw herself at him. The knife cut through his coat and shirt, embedded deep into his chest, right through to his heart.

With the silver injected straight to the heart, Alice watched his eyes fade back into their original mucky green colour. His fangs shrank back, the wild light in his gaze fading with his life. He let out a staggering breath, all too human again, all too vulnerable, and looked down at the blade in his chest.

"We're... n-not all bad," he choked out, blood falling from his lips. A last ditch effor to... what? Appeal to her mercy? Beg for his life? It was already gone.

Alice looked back over to the woman passed out on the ground. Her eyes hardened and met his again. "Yes," she said. "You are." She turned the knife in his chest, blood dripping out, and let his body collapse to the ground. "Fucking asshole."

She pulled a cleansing-cloth out of her back pocket and wiped down the blood from the knife. The stink of the blood made Alice's nose scrunch up as she tossed the cloth onto the ground. Within seconds, she'd lit it on fire with a lighter she kept inside the pouch, which she'd gathered, along with the few things that spilled out.

"_Alice. Alice, can you hear me?"_ Esme's voice made her jump a little.

"I'm here," Alice said. "God these things stink."

"_What happened? Are you alright? Where are you? I'm coming to you now."_

Alice rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Esme." She kicked the dead body again. "I found this asshole with a drunken woman. He's dead now, which means my total of kills is now five. Booyah!" Smugness radiated through her entire body as she walked over to check on the woman. She was unconscious, but alive. "She's okay, but we should probably get her out of here. I'll take care of her." Alice's eyes trailed to the girl's chest. "Ooh, Alice like…"

Esme sighed. "_Alice, will you please wait there for me?"_

"Yeah, yeah," Alice said, standing upright. "I'll…"

She stopped when she felt like there were eyes watching her and, on instinct, she slipped her mask on and rolled for her sword and shield. A moment later, she heard a low growl echo through the alley and she turned just in time to see a pair of inhuman blue eyes glaring back at her. Only it wasn't two eyes. There were six of them. Three more wolves, one male, two female.

Alice tensed up. One of the females spoke. "The bitch killed Rodney." Her voice was low, yet she sounded disinterested. "Oh well." She clicked her teeth together and sneered at the lone Hunter. "He was a pussy anyways."

"A pack of pussies," Alice said, smirking behind her mask. She was nervous at the numbers game, but she refused to show them that. "How fitting."

The male snarled. "We don't have time for this."

"Kill the Hunter, Luke," the other female said. "We'll go ahead."

"Joy." The male stalked toward Alice while the two women used their inhuman speed to run up the nearby wall, disappearing before Alice had the chance to do anything.

Alice cursed. She considered informing Esme, but she didn't want to give up the element of surprise if they didn't know about Esme already. It didn't seem like it since they didn't make any mention of Esme. Alice, however, pushed the thought aside and focused on killing this wolf so she could alert Esme and they could go after the others.

The wolf lunged at Alice, who brought her shield up in time to block his fist. He yelped and his arm shot back, but he was quick to recover and attack her again, this time going low, for her legs. Alice leapt over him and landed on her feet, spinning forcefully to smash her left foreleg into the wolf's head as he stood upright. The wolf fell to the ground and Alice moved in, thrusting her left arm forward. The blade nicked him, the silver causing the skin to hiss as the wolf backpedaled.

"Damn it!" he cursed.

Alice grinned. This one wasn't as smart or tough as the one before him. The wolf, however, quickly showed he wasn't a slouch. He ran at her while her guard was down and slugged her across the face. Alice landed roughly on the ground, but was able to roll as the wolf brought his fist down. He tried to grab her, only Alice kicked his hand away, then went to stab him again. He leapt back in time to avoid it.

He growled and gnashed his teeth as blood trickled down from the nick he'd received. "You're clever, Hunter," he said.

"Thank you," Alice said. "You, however, are not."

He opened his mouth only to close it as the young Hunter crouched into a battle ready position. The wolf glanced at the corpse of his former comrade—a term he used loosely—and realized he wasn't going to be able to defeat her. Young or not, she had enough skill to defeat him. He had to be smart. And quick. So he opted for the one thing he knew would give him an advantage.

The wolf spun around and made a mad dash away from the alley, moving faster than the average human. Alice scowled beneath her mask.

"Oh _fuck_no!" She chased after the wolf.

"_Alice?"_ Esme's voice crackled in her ear, but Alice was too focused on keeping up with the filthy dog. Adrenaline rushed through her, pushing her fit body as fast as she could move.

Alice crossed out from the alley and through an empty road, which lead to an expanse of forest. She caught sight of the wolf and barreled toward him just as he stopped and spin around and face her. His bright blue eyes glimmered dangerously as he curled his lips back, revealing his fangs. He let out a loud snarl as his body started to convulse.

Alice brought herself to a halt as the wolf proceeded to transform. His body erupted as he went down on all fours, and soon enough, he was a snarling animal entirely. Alice studied him for a moment as the wolf cracked its neck. Not an Alpha, that was obvious when he took orders from the female. A Beta? Omega? Alice scowled.

The wolf lunged at her, its powerful jaws coming dangerously close to taking her head off. Alice, however, ducked under it and rolled aside. The wolf landed on its feet and spun fast before charging again. This time, Alice smashed her shield into its fast, the silver burning the wolf's flesh. It didn't stop it, however, and the wolf managed to collide into the Hunter, knocking her to the ground.

The wolf glared at her as Alice considered her options. That was when she came up with an idea. She grinned again and moved away from the wolf, swiftly reaching into the pouch until she located a small, round object.

"Here doggie, doggie, doggie," Alice said. "I have a treat for you." She chucked the small orb at the wolf and watched as it smacked the beast in the face. "Say hello to Alice's Platt's Signature Stink-Bomb, mutt."

The stink bomb burst and filled the wolf's nostrils with a noxious stench that made it whimper and its eyes water. Alice practically pounced through the air and brought her left arm down, piercing through the wolf's skull.

_Two down,_ Alice thought. She could smell the aftermath even through her mask. She turned away and grimace. "Yuck! I think I used _too_ much stink."

She stabbed the wolf a few more times to ensure it was dead, then started to look around. Where did those other two go? Were they still around? Alice scowled, knowing Esme would chew her out for letting them get away.

"_Alice,"_ Esme said. She sounded flustered. "_Alice, where are you?"_

"Just killed another one," Alice replied. She heard movement not far off and what sounded like fighting. Alice braced herself and ran forward, moving as fast and quiet as she could. "I think I just located another one."

She leapt past several trees just in time to see Esme cleave one of the two female wolves in half. Alice's mouth fell open and she gaped through her mask as Esme calmly spun her sword, causing the wolf's blood to splatter on the dirt.

"No kidding," Esme said. Alice could feel the glare from her aunt, which made her wince. "You, young lady, are in a shitload of trouble. But we'll get to that later." Esme turned and Alice noticed the other female wolf was still alive with a severed right leg. "I have to deal with this bitch first."

The wolf snarled. "Fuck you, Hunter!"

Esme chuckled darkly. "I'm afraid not, mongrel." She sauntered toward the wolf while Alice closed in as well. "I'm also afraid this is the end of the road for you."

The female's eyes widened and she whimpered. "Damn you." She was covered in blood, looking like she might die from blood loss at any second.

Esme pointed her blade at the wolf's heart. "Any last words?"

"W-wait," she said. "W-what if… what if I helped you?"

Esme tilted her head to the side. "Explain."

"W-we heard there's an Alpha somewhere in Washington and we were searching because we'd heard they were recruiting," the woman said, rapidly. "We were supposed to meet a contact of his, but then that dumbass Rodney went off to 'have fun' and this shit happened." She held her hands up. "Please, mercy. I won't—"

Esme moved her left arm swiftly, cleaving the wolf's arm off without a word. The wolf yowled in pain as blood spurted from the wound, only for Esme to do the same thing to her other arm. Then her other leg. The wolf screamed and gagged on blood while Alice watched, a shiver rippling through the young Hunter's body as Esme crouched down in front of the limbless wolf to remove her mask.

"Look at me," Esme said. "I want to see the fear and pain in your eyes as you die." She turned to Alice. "Finish her."

Alice's lips twisted into a venomous smile. "With pleasure."

In one brutal movement, Alice brought her left arm down, cleaving through the wolf's head, splitting it mostly in half. Then the body went limp and Esme stood up.

"Let's dispose of these bodies," Esme said. "You said you killed two others? We'll deal with them, too. We have to be thorough about it. The stink will remain if we don't." She turned to Alice, a dark glint in her eyes. "That was very nice, hon. But try not to be so damn careless next time. You scared me half to death when you didn't respond."

"Sorry," Alice said. "What about the woman?"

"Tend to her after the filth is disposed," Esme said. Her eyes lowered to the dead wolf. "We need to be on our toes, Alice. I'll report to the Council what we've learned. If there's an Alpha in the area, there's a good chance he or she has a pack. Judging by what this one said, this Alpha is gathering forces. That's not good."

"We'll take 'em," Alice said. "It doesn't matter how many there are, Esme. We'll murder every last fucking wolf we run into until they're all dead, mark my words."

Esme allowed herself a smile. "That we will."

**A/N: HG: Hey there folks, so, a few things we wanted to inform all of you about. First and foremost, neither Paige nor I are advocates for smoking, weed, cigarettes or anything of that nature. Neither of us use them in our personal lives and I have a heavy bias against cigarettes myself. However, this is a fictional story and sometimes, these add to the characters as quirks. Both Bella and Alice smoke for differing reasons and do so because it's part of who they are. It's an escape. It's a way for them to get away from the world when things get too much. Some people are like that in real life, which is why we're doing that. (that, and we both feel that smoking characters tend to have this coolness to them, oddly enough. Ironic, eh?)**

**Paige: Right, what he said. I, personally, have no issue with it. I mean, the effects cigarettes have on people aside. Cancer, tar, all those health issues aside. People will do what they do. And yeah, same with what he said about the girls' reasoning. You might notice Bella only smokes when she's stressing out. Anyways, another thing to mention is the pairing. There seems to be some confusion over this. It is NOT a threesome. This is NOT a Katellice fic. It's Katella and it is Bellice. Two separate couplings. We're going to see how that goes and adjust accordingly. So all you hardcore Bellice fans, don't worry, and try to give Katie a chance.**

**HG: All that aside, hope you all enjoyed. Alice was NOT the wolf, though. ;) Also, just a confirmation: Katie Marshall is NOT Kate Denali. They are two different women. Just to clarify.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Meyer. Our ideas belong to us. **

"_I need you to hear this loud and clear, the line and the sand is drawn and I have no fear. When I see red all I need is a reason to set me off, to drop this bomb and pick yourself off the ground. _

_Cuz I'm a badass! And you don't want to clash, cuz your mouth's writing checks that your face can't cash! _

_Cuz I'm a badass! And this warning's your last, just cross my path and I'll drop you fast!_

_Cuz I'm a badass!" ~ Badass by Saliva_

**Chapter Five**

**5.5.5**

Alice's sky blue eyes were fixed on the ceiling as she listened to her Aunt bustle around below. She had chosen to take the entire attic as her room for privacy. A spot for herself, up away from the world, detached in her own solitude. Unfortunately, every single noise from the house echoed up into the attic.

She could hear Esme listening to the news in the living room, seeing if there were any reports of their activities last night. Her door hadn't been barged down yet, so it looked like they were in the clear.

Alice smirked as she began to relax, one hand on her stomach—middle finger swirling around inside her navel, thumb and index finger playing with the ring—while the other pulled a cigarette out of her brand new pack close by. She'd bought a handful of them last night using her charm to make the guy behind the cash register give her a pack for free, which she was fine with. She put it to her lips, lit it, then let out a sigh of breath and smoke intermingling.

"Shit," she said. Monday. School. Alice let out a groan. She didn't want to go to school today. She would much rather stay home to read, train, listen to music… the list went on and on about things she would've much rather done than go to school. She'd even take _chores_—and she hated chores, the damn things.

Alice brought the cigarette back to her mouth, enjoying the sweet taste of the smoke. She knew she couldn't smoke in school or anywhere near it. She was fine with that—Alice wasn't addicted, since part of the Hunter psyche training had been to learn to withstand addiction like that. But it helped her so much to escape from her worries. It relieved all the tension in her body like crazy. Sometimes, she needed the relief that way, like now.

The pixie-haired Hunter chuckled. "My ass." She closed her eyes, cigarette dangling slightly from her pouty lips. She thought back to the night before, when she and Esme had killed four wolves. Her heart swelled with pride at the memories.

_And there's still an Alpha around,_ Alice thought. The idea of killing an Alpha excited her, spreading adrenaline through her body. She would enjoy that.

"Honey, you should get up now if you want to shower before school!" Esme hollered through the house.

Alice sighed, tossing her blankets back alongside another drag. The beginning of yet another first day of school in a new town. She decided to finish her smoke first since she wanted to savor it. A few minutes later, however, Esme burst into the room.

"Alice." The caramel-haired woman's eyes narrowed when she saw her niece smoking. "Really, Alice? On a school day?"

Alice shrugged, not meeting her aunt's eyes. "I needed it to relax."

Esme walked over to her and sat next to her niece. "I really wish you would cool it with the smoking. I get that it helps you relax and whatnot, but there are other ways, you know." She pointed at the girl's finger in her bellybutton. "I would rather see you play with _that_ then smoke, truth be told."

"You smoke all the time," Alice remarked, giving her aunt a sideways glance.

Esme bit her lip sheepishly. "Yes, I know. It… it's become natural to me. I've been smoking since I was sixteen years old, Alice." She smiled. "Your mother and I smoked all the time. It was a nasty thing, but we couldn't help it. We did it because we felt like rebels, and because only the 'cool kids' smoked. Our parents were so pissed off at us. They did everything they could to stop it, but we kept doing it. It was… freedom. But Alice, I don't want it to become a crutch like it did for your mother, even for me."

Alice frowned. "But you said Hunters couldn't become addicted to anything." Then she smirked. "Other than killing those stinking monsters, that is."

Her aunt allowed herself a small smile before she grew serious again. "I wasn't lying when I said that, but you're eighteen, for God's sake. And I don't…"

"Don't what?" Alice asked.

"You're so much like your mother," Esme said. Her voice was soft, pained, yet there was pride and fear mixed in as well. Alice stared at her. "You're cocky, spirited, headstrong, stubborn, foul-mouthed and you have so much strength in you, more than even you're aware of. I mean hell, you're left handed _and_ a smoker like her!"

Esme put a hand on Alice's shoulder. "Alice, I love you dearly, but I worry about you. You're so much like your mother, her flaws included, and that scares me." She pulled her niece closer to her and kissed her cheek. "Just… promise me you'll try and calm it down a bit, okay?"

"I'll try," Alice said after a few minutes. "Try."

"That's the best I can ask for," Esme said. "Also, go take a shower. You stink."

Alice let out a smoky scoff. "It's not nice to tell your niece she stinks, Aunt Esme."

"It's not nice to stink, niece Alice," Esme snarked back. "Finish that and get in the shower, Missy. You've got school."

"Yeah, yeah," Alice said.

She finished her cigarette, grabbed her towel, then danced down the stairs to their bathroom. By the time she was done showering, Esme had breakfast set up in the kitchen. The young woman sat at the table, flipping through a news paper with a cup of coffee. Watching the news was easier, they hit all the big stories quickly, giving you the most important information. Sometimes, though, Hunter actions were reported by the paper. Little things like bloodstains that won't come out of cement from a battle scene, or hooded figures caught stalking the city.

It had been a long time since anything Esme did had actually hit the news, however. She'd only had a few issues years and years back when she was just starting out, but that was over and done with. Esme had learned. It was more of a formality, her double checking the next morning. Setting an example for Alice. Speaking of which...

The girl skipped into the room, perching on the chair at the other end of the table. "I'm all cleaned up, Momma Es," she said, reaching to grab the bowl of cut fruit. She lifted her arms. "You can smell my armpits to be sure, if you want."

Esme looked up with a smile on her face, setting down the paper. "No, I have zero interest in sniffing you, Alice." Alice started munching on the fruit with her bare hands, earning an eye roll from her guardian. "So now that the unpleasantness is done, tell me, are you excited for your first day of school?"

"Excited?" Alice repeated, a thoughtful look on her face. She tapped her chin with a shard of an apple. "No, I don't think that's the word. Exasperated, annoyed, bored, resigned. Any of those work." Then she stuffed her mouth with fruit.

The fruit smile she gave her Aunt had little effect and Esme shook her head. "I'm sure it will be different this time, hon." She watched as Alice swallowed the fruit and prepared a bowl of Cheerios, which she quickly began devouring. "I have faith in that."

"How do you figure?" Alice asked around a mouthful of Cheerios. She swallowed, then snuck a look at her aunt.

Esme sat down and sipped at a warm mug of steaming coffee, shrugging both her shoulders. "This is a small, close knit town. Friendships here are made of stone. I'm sure you will find true friends and relationships here, of all places. It's one of the reasons I wanted to come here, truth be told."

"Didn't you say that about Chicago? That those friendships would last a lifetime?" Alice asked, trying to keep the attitude out of her voice. Again, it wasn't Esme's fault, but Alice was looking for someone to blame.

The woman frowned. "I... I did, didn't I?" She chewed on her lip, watching her niece give her a slow, even nod. "Oh. Well, I was lying then." She grimaced at the words and saw Alice's blue eyes narrow. "This time I'm serious."

Alice snorted. "Oh gee, I feel so much better now."

"Just give Forks a chance, hon." Esme got up, grabbing her bag. "I have to head in early and set up my classroom, but I'll see you after lunch. Please be careful, okay?"

The young Hunter looked up with wide eyes. "Wait... I'm in History? _You're_ my teacher?"

"See you in class, Miss Platt!" Esme sang, dancing out the door with the biggest grin on her face.

Alice sat back in her seat, staring down at the table. "Yeah. Totally gonna be Miss Popular in this town." She scowled and chugged down the milk from her bowl. "Fuck."

.

.

.

Eyes stared back at her from all around her room. The vibrant blues stained with rage and hunger like she had never seen before. Bella ran her hands through her hair, digging her nails into the skin on the back of her neck. Sketches were pinned up on her walls, covering every surface they could find, taking up notebooks, spilling out of drawers, over and over and over again.

A lot of them were raw, a few dark lines and splashes of blue. She had only caught a glimpse of her face in the woods, in the creek she had run through to get away from Katie. When she got home, she had done it again. Hyperventilating in the bathroom, freaking out over the sink. Her face... it changed... her teeth... those eyes...

She spent, jeez, hours sketching them out. Putting them on paper, trying to get them right. Maybe if she could just separate it from her, objectify it, she could figure things out. Like what the _hell_ was happening to her.

Bella looked down at her phone that had been vibrating consistently since Sunday afternoon. She had calls and messages from Katie and Jasper, too many to even try and answer now.

She stalked down the hallway to the washroom, turning the sink on. School was in an hour and she desperately needed a sense of normality. Besides, if she didn't go, Jasper would break her door down and demand to know what was going on with her.

Maybe that's what she needed: Jasper to make sense of all this.

The ink staining her hands faded from her skin, but didn't disappear with the water. Bella was used to that, from her artwork over the years. She had paint or pen anywhere on her body at any given time, but for some reason it not coming off was... wrong this morning.

She just – she wanted to be clean! A clean, normal kid!

"G-get off!" She shouted, scraping at her skin. Images from the night of Jessica's party shuffled through her mind. The screaming, laughing students falling over each other. Her smoke curling through the air. That enormous shadow falling over her. "Damn it!" The soap slipped out of her trembling hands.

Lips curling up over enormous fangs in a grin, razor claws digging into her flesh. "Get off!" She screamed, fist shooting out into the wall above the sink.

Those blue eyes met her gaze when she looked up into the mirror, stilling her actions. Her chest heaved up and down as she dragged in air and slowly let it out, trying to calm her racing heart. Bella pulled her hand from the wall, lifting her fingers to pull her bottom lip down. Her canines were sharp and long, like Angela's dogs. Was that what she was now? A dog? What the hell?

Bella gripped the side of the sink, feeling a pressure build up in her chest. She took a deep breath, pushing at that feeling, drawing it out, until a feral snarl shook the bathroom.

"What the hell," she wheezed out, stepping back away from the mirror. "Impossible. This isn't real. It can't be real."

She staggered backwards until she hit the wall, sliding down it to sit on the floor. These kinds of things just didn't happened, this wasn't real. It couldn't be.

The front door down below swung open, banging against the wall, which made Bella jump. "Bella!? Bella, I saw the bike in the garage, I know you're here!" Jasper called from the entrance.

"J-Just a second," she replied, glancing back up at the mirror to see that her eyes were their normal deep brown. She ran her tongue along her teeth again, relief washing over her at their regular size. "It's not real. It's not."

Maybe she was just a fucking psycho, or all the alcohol and smokes were giving her brain rot. Or, hell, maybe she was having an episode, she sneezed too hard and something in her head popped. Anything logical. Something that made sense and wasn't made of nightmares.

Bella took a deep breath, pulling herself to her feet and opened the bathroom door. _One last time, say it with me, Bella: you're fine. You are__**fine**_**,**_got that?_

She grabbed her bag from her room, glancing around at all the drawings, and closed the door behind her. James didn't usually go wandering into her space, but she didn't want anything catching his eye.

The brunette tumbled down the last two steps, glaring over her shoulder at them, and skidded to a stop in front of a worried looking Jasper. "Dude, where the hell have you been? You took off Saturday!"

"What did Katie say?"

He frowned, shaking his head. "What? I don't know. She just said that she freaked you out and you took off. What happened?"

"She kissed me," was Bella's simple reply.

Jasper's light eyes grew twice in size. "Holy shit, what?!"

"And then I..." she fiddled with her lip ring, trying to think of the right words. None came. "Freaked out and ran away."

The blonde boy felt himself relax. He had been seriously worried, truth be told his mind had went back to his nightmares. Half convinced he would find his best friend dead this time or something. _This_, however, Bella freaking out over a kiss, was normal.

Well, normal teenage drama. Bella didn't go around kissing girls all the time, that involved getting near people which was one of her top three least favourite things to do. A smile slid onto his face and he punched her in the shoulder, frowning when she didn't even blink. "What, did she have bad breath or something?"

Bella, despite her own issues, was able to appreciate the comedic relief. "Shut up, Jas, you know what I meant."

"You are gonna talk to her, right?" Jasper asked. "Katie's been worried sick."

The brunette grimaced at the thought of _that_particular conversation. Feelings. Yelling. Embarrassment. Apologizing. Ah shit, she had to apologize now. Great. "Um…"

.

.

.

Alice pulled into the Forks High parking lot, drumming on her steering wheel to her custom playlist, which included everything from rock to pop to dance to heavy metal. She bobbed her head until the song stopped, at which point she grudgingly turned her Porsche off and glanced out of the window.

"Well, here I am," she muttered. "Fucking school."

She could see students all over the place, all new faces that were her age and younger. The pixie-haired Hunter scowled and retrieved her iPod, stuffed it into her backpack, then opened her door. Before she exited, however, she took a moment to check her reflection.

"Yup, still sexy," Alice said, smirking. Then she was out of her car, backpack slung over her left shoulder, staring at the school before her.

Alice strutted toward the main building and caught sight of numerous students—boys and girls—looking at her ride. Alice smirked, knowing damn well her baby was a sight to see. She knew it. They knew it. So she was cool with them ogling. It made her confidence swell, which was fairly easy to do. Alice was naturally confident in herself. She was hot, smart, strong and awesome. What wasn't there to like?

"Nice ride," came a woman's voice, causing Alice to stop. She turned and saw a tall, gorgeous blonde girl giving Alice an approving look. "If I'm not mistaken, that's a 2011 Porsche Panamera Turbo, isn't it? With a little work on the side, it would seem."

Alice smirked. "Right on all accounts. It's nice to know there's another good-looking girl here who knows her vehicles."

The blonde grinned back. "Rosalie Hale."

"Alice Platt," Alice replied. They shook hands.

Alice took in the sight of the girl standing—towering, more like it—before her. She was hot. There was no way of beating around the bush: this girl was sexy as fuck. Alice liked her right off the bat for it. She was tall, too, at least six feet tall and that was _without_heels. The girl also had a killer figure, with a nice bust, long flowing blonde hair, fine eyebrows and pretty violet eyes. Alice's eyes trailed downwards to the girl's stomach and wondered…

"Rooooooosalie!" a whiny voice jostled Alice from her ogling and she turned to see a much shorter, brown-haired girl running up to them, followed by a girl who was equal to her in height with dirty blonde hair, a nice rack and dark blue eyes. The shorter girl huffed. "There you are, Rosalie. We've been looking everywhere for you."

"Not really," replied the other girl, rolling her eyes. "C'mon, Jess. You just got here."

"Yeah, okay, fine." Then the girl stopped and turned to Alice. "Oh, hi." She turned to Rosalie. "New friend?"

"We just met," Rosalie said. Her violet eyes narrowed and she gave Alice a pleasant smile. "These are my friends, Lauren," she gestured to the other blonde girl, "and Jessica."

"Alice," the Hunter said, giving each of them smiles.

Jessica practically latched onto her hand. "Nice to meet you, Alice! Are you new here? Yeah, you must be, but that's cool! You should totally let us show you the ropes at this place since we know everything there is to know!"

Alice stared at the girl, who was a few inches shorter than her five eight-and-a-half inches, probably five foot five, if that, and wondered where all her energy was coming from and why she'd greet Alice like that. Oh, wait. Alice knew. Gossip girl.

Alice had been to multiple different schools over the course of her life, and she'd learned from paying strict attention how students acted and what students belonged to what clique. This girl, Jessica, was a gossip girl. She could see it in the eager smile stretching across her face and the glimmer of interest in her eyes. She wanted Alice as a friend so they could gossip, or she wanted Alice as an enemy to gossip about her.

Alice pulled her hand back from Jessica's grip. "That's alright. I'm fine."

Jessica shrank, and Alice could see the gears in her head turning. Before she could speak, however, Lauren cut her off. "If you'd like, you can still have lunch with us." She gestured to the door and the four girls entered the school building. "I know how it feels to be new and not know a soul. It can be lonesome."

"Yes," Rosalie agreed.

"I'll think on it," Alice said, nodding. She was wary of making friends, even after what Esme had said. For all she knew, they would leave the day after without a trace. Alice hated the idea. She hated the unpredictability. "It was nice to meet you ladies. Oh, but I do have one question." She pulled out her schedule and pointed. "Where's this at?"

.

.

.

Alice danced around to her iPod on its high volume as she moved through the halls. It was lunch time—thank fuck, as far as Alice was concerned—and she was in no hurry to make it to the cafeteria. She was fine with dancing until she felt it was a good enough time to grab a bite to eat. She was a fast eater. She had to be.

She was so focused on her music that she didn't see someone until after they bumped into one another. Jostled, Alice paused and turned to see a brown-haired girl who was a little taller than her—five foot ten, Alice had to guess—looking agitated as she turned her dark eyes onto Alice. Despite the look she was receiving, Alice was able to appreciate the subtle beauty this girl was trying to hide underneath her hat and hood. Dark chocolate waves framed a sharp, elegant structured face, a contrast to her pale blemish free skin, pierced with a smooth eyebrow stud and shiny lip ring. Hard to see beneath the coat and hoodie, Alice could tell she had her own curves, but her gaze was quickly brought back up to the deep brown eyes staring at her. Too many emotions swam through them for Alice to pick any _one_ out and name, and the only adequate description Alice could give them was _raw_. She'd never seen eyes like that before.

"Sorry about—"

The brunette cut Alice off. "Watch where the hell you're going," she hissed out. Then she started to walk off, only for Alice to speed-walk in front of her.

"Excuse me?" Alice said. "I was a few seconds away from apologizing, and you go and bitchface me like that?" She scoffed. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" She stared into the brunette's eyes. "I'm sorry I bumped into you, I was too busy trying to escape this boring-as-fuck high school with some music. And I'm sorry you're in a bitchy mood, but snapping at me for an accident is a _terrible_ way to make a first impression."

Bella held out her arms with a mocking bow. "You're right. Would you _please_ watch where the hell you're going, and move your ass out of my way?"

"Seriously, cut that out," Alice began, watching her roll those dark eyes. "Or I'm going to knock your fucking block off." She was running out of patience.

The brunette stared at Alice for a moment, slowly straightening back up. It had been a while since anyone outright challenged her like that. Usually people wrote off her attitude and went on their way, not deeming her worth wasting their time with. The only other person with the gall to confront her was Rosalie, one of the few people around here who had any substance. Bitchy, stuck up, annoying as fuck substance, but still. Bella's demeanor shifted slightly. "I actually am the worst at first impressions. Rumor has it, that's why my mom ditched."

"Uh." Alice was taken aback. That was quite the switch. "Um." She wasn't really sure how to respond now; the girl's voice was teasing, and yet there was a look about her that said she was being serious. "Okay."

The corner of Bella's mouth hooked up into a half smile-half smirk. "I've had a long morning. Being the shiny new toy in town means you've probably had one too. How about we each give each other the benefit of the doubt and start over?"

"Fuck yeah," Alice replied. She wasn't entirely sure how to process everything that had happened, it was a hell of a lot easier to throw it all away and start over. "I'm Alice. Alice Platt."

"Isn't there a teacher with that name?"

Alice groaned. "Yeah, she's my Aunt." She felt awkward saying that out loud, but she quickly changed the subject. "What's your name, stranger?"

The brunette's lips twitched, but before she could answer, a loud voice cut her off. "Hi Alice!" Both girls turned to see Jessica Stanley standing a few feet away. The shorter girl shot Bella a dirty look before turning to Alice. "I thought I smelled trash. Careful you don't step in it, Alice." She sneered in Bella's direction. "This stinky dyke is Bella Swan. She and her loser friends are nothing but a bunch of good-for-nothing potheads."

Alice perked up at the 'pothead' part, but the 'dyke' sent a pulse of fury that made her shudder. She hated that word for a lot of reasons, and to hear it come with so much hateful emphasis made her irritated.

Bella interjected. "Kiss my ass, Stanley." Alice turned and saw the brunette giving her a dark look, as if she'd somehow betrayed her for something. She brushed past Alice, stopping to give Jessica a dark look. The shorter girl stepped backwards into the lockers. Bella shook her head and kept walking. "Pathetic."

"Fucking dyke," Jessica said, sneering.

Alice's anger skyrocketed. "Would you please not use that word?"

Jessica frowned. "Why? She's a lesbo. And—"

"Because _I'm_ a lesbian!" Alice snapped. "You'd better watch your fucking mouth around me, you got that?" She glared at Jessica, whose eyes went wide. Alice didn't like it when people were insulted in that way, gay, straight or otherwise. Alice felt disgust at the girl despite barely knowing her, and, knowing she would snap even more if she kept it up, she left to go to the cafeteria, leaving Jessica standing where she was, alone.

"Fuck it," Alice said as she walked. She wasn't that hungry. She was too pissed. She just kept walking through the halls until she ran into none other than Esme.

"Alice," Esme said. The smile she gave her niece dropped. "What's wrong?"

"Fucking people, that's what," Alice said, clicking her teeth together.

Esme placed a hand on her niece's shoulder. "Calm down, Alice. Breathe."

Alice sighed and shook her head. "I'm fine, Esme. Pissed, yes, but fine." She stuffed her hands into her pockets. "Sorry. Some girl irked me. Called another girl a dyke."

Esme twitched. "I see. Well." She smiled. "She's a bitch, then."

"Exactly," Alice said. "Can I go home?"

"No," Esme said. "You know better, Alice. I'm not going to let you run away from this because one girl pissed you off. You know better than that." She gave Alice's shoulder a light flick. "Now get your ass back in there and deal with it, got it?" Alice tried the puppy dog stare, but Esme turned away. "Don't even try it. Now get."

"Fiiine," Alice said, trying to fight back a smile.

**.**

**.**

**.**

The two Hunters danced around the chalk outline of a ring, eyes locked onto each others. Alice blew a dark lock of hair out of her face—how was it that when she trained, her naturally short hair somehow got into her face?—and scowled, eyes widening a fraction as she ducked under Esme's swing. She countered with her own shot, hitting nothing but air and staggered into the woman's previous spot.

Esme was fast. The usually motherly woman, currently ass-kicking Hunter, smiled at her niece. "So, how was your first day, that incident aside?"

Alice thought back to what had happened and how she'd grumbled as she headed into the cafeteria, surrounded by students she didn't know. That was until she saw Rosalie Hale, who was standing near a table. The blonde turned just in time to catch Alice's gaze and nodded to her, using her head to motion Alice over.

"_Hey," Alice said, jogging over to the tall, hard to miss blonde. "Rosalie, right?"_

"_Yes," Rosalie replied. "I was starting to wonder what had happened to you, newbie. Thought maybe you decided to drop out because of the shittiness that is Forks High."_

_Alice laughed. "I was tempted to, believe me. There's so much more I'd rather be doing."_

_Rosalie nodded understandingly. "Why don't you grab a bite to eat? You can sit with me, if you'd like. Lauren was here earlier, but she ate and left to talk to a teacher."_

_Alice went and got some cafeteria food—crap a-la mode, yum yum—then joined Rosalie as she sat down. Alice started picking at her meal, eating bits and pieces. She still wasn't all that hungry._

"_So what's the deal with Jessica?" Alice asked after taking a few bites._

"_What do you mean?" Rosalie replied._

"_She seems bitchy," the pixie-haired girl responded. "Like, ultra gossipy and snooty and shit. I had a… less than pleasant run-in with her before I came in here."_

"_Careful," the blonde said. "Jessica may be small, but she's loud and can drag anyone down without much trouble if she chooses to."_

_Alice scoffed. "No offense, but that twerp couldn't drag me down if she was twice my size." She took a chomp out of an apple. "So what's her deal, or are you guys super best friends? You didn't seem like it earlier. She seems like a leech more than anything."_

_Rosalie stared at this girl, surprised by how blunt she was being. Normally, people thought twice about insulting Jessica Stanley, or at the very least, talking to Rosalie Hale in such a way. She wasn't used to it. And yet, for some reason, she liked it. This Alice Platt had moxie. Rosalie had a bit of respect for moxie._

"_We're friends," the blonde said. "Have been for years. But Jess has issues." She folded her hands and watched Alice wolf down the cafeteria food she'd been picking at seconds later. Girl had an appetite to her._

"_Like what?" Alice asked._

"_Nothing I intend to tell someone I just met," Rosalie replied._

_Alice snorted. "Fine, sure. I can figure it out." She chugged down her juice. "I'm pretty fucking smart, and amazing. Plus, I'm really good at reading people."_

_Rosalie quirked an eyebrow. Arrogant, too? Why was this girl suddenly so interesting to Rosalie? "In that case, what's your take on my verbose friend, Miss Platt?"_

_The young Hunter finished her meal and thought about it. "Inferiority complex, tough upbringing, probably some verbal shaming from an older sibling, combined with Rich Bitch Syndrome and a classic case of faux-homophobia."_

_Rosalie stared at her. "What?"_

_Alice smirked. "Am I right, or am I right?"_

"Oh," Alice snapped out of her thoughts and sidestepped a kick, twirling out of the way of another swipe. "You know. Hellish. Shitty. Abysmal. The worst." Her fists shot out like lightning, one hit after the other, though much to her chagrin, all of them were blocked. "Yours?"

Esme's mitted fist connected with Alice's right side and she listened to the air get knocked out of the young girl. She always left that side open. "Keep your right arm up, Alice," she warned yet again. "And it was nice. I saw you sitting with that blonde girl in my class, talking quietly to each other during my lesson." Most teachers would chew a student out for that, yelling about disruptions. Esme, on the other hand, was excited at the prospect of Alice having a new friend.

The young Hunter nodded to herself. "Yeah, that's Lauren."

_Perfect, everyone was already in class. Where the fuck was she supposed to sit now? On Esme's lap?_

_Before Alice could die of internal embarrassment, she saw a familiar blonde head. Lauren's dark blue eyes lit up, a friendly smile sliding onto her face as she waved the new girl over. She leaned back in her seat as Alice sat down. "You looked a little lost up there."_

"_Yeah, thanks." Alice said, pulling out her notebook. "I hate finding seats on the first day. I feel stupid just standing up there."_

_Lauren snorted, nodding her head. "Been there, done that."_

She grinned, her glove hitting Esme square in the gut. Until the woman twisted, hooking her arm around Alice's hand and yanked, bringing the girl in close and tripping her down to the floor before she could react. Alice huffed and Esme's smile grew. "Is she a new friend?" Her eyebrows wiggled. "Or girlfriend?"

"What?" Alice guffawed, rolling her eyes. "No and no. Am I in seventh grade here?"

The woman helped her niece up to her feet, pouting. "She's not a friend? But you spent my entire lecture whispering to each other."

"It's the first day, Aunt Esme," Alice said, irritation fizzling in the air. "I barely know her name, let alone know if we're friends."

Esme nodded in understanding, bringing her gloved hands back up. "Oh, I see. A friend in the making. Any other potentials?"

"A couple, I guess," Alice replied.

_She tried to focus on Esme's lesson, Alice really did. But these were things she knew already, had learnt at her last school, and her mind was wandering._

_The Hunter held her chin in her hand, listening to Lauren's pen scratch against the paper. Her gaze drifted around the room, taking in all the kids studiously jotting down notes, until it landed on a familiar dark figure. The girl from the hall._

_She was lounging back in her seat, looking all too comfortable for a classroom, with her long legs stretched out beneath the desk. One hand lay on the desk, tapping the end of a pen against her paper while the other was holding a ruler a breath away from another girl's face. The two appeared to be friends, as the girl in the glasses was trying not to smile._

"_What's her story?" Alice found herself asking. She remembered Jessica's bitchy, repulsive remarks and rundown on the girl earlier, and the urge to throttle her came back. She'd rather have Lauren's intel._

_The blonde looked up and followed Alice's line of sight, a small smile pulling at her lips. "Oh, that's Bella. Kinda dark, kinda sarcastic. She mostly keeps to herself and her friends. Funny to watch mess with Jessica, scary to watch her and Rose go at it. Best to stay out of her business though."_

"_Why's that?" Alice asked, her curiosity piqued._

_Lauren shrugged her shoulders absently. "Tragedy tends to follow her around. Her mom picked up and left when she was really little, leaving Bella with her dad, the Chief of police, but he died in some shootout when we were still kids. Now she lives with her drunken uncle, and is as likely to rip your head off as she is to smile at you."_

"_Hmm." Alice nodded. Well, she made a little more sense now at least._

"A couple," Alice puffed out. The two had gone from boxing to the treadmills, Esme pushing them five miles a night before supper. The young Hunter felt her heart beat painfully in her chest, forcing her legs to move and match Esme's pace. "What about you? Any teacher friends? Chatting with the local Hunters?"

Esme shook her head, cheeks nice and rosy. "No, no. I'm much too busy for that."

"Bullshit," Alice shot back. "If I have to make friends, so do you."

Ramping up the speed, Esme tried to literally and metaphorically outrun this line of conversation. "I'm the adult here, Alice. I know what's best for myself."

"So do I."

"You're still a minor, under my care. What I say goes," Esme said.

Alice hooked an eyebrow up. "Actually, I'm eighteen. I can do whatever I damn well want to."

"Just you try, hon." Esme winked. "My way or the highway."

"Look," the young Hunter panted. "All I'm saying is that this advice you keep trying to shove down my throat? You may be right, and it's good advice for you _too_."

Esme huffed, sticking out her tongue at Alice. "Ttthhhbbbppptt!"

"_Hey!"_Alice scoffed, her mouth falling open in surprise. "Did... did you just make fart noises at me? Who's the minor now, Esme?"

The woman pressed a few buttons, stopping her treadmill and hopped off. "Another twenty minutes for you." Alice looked up with wide eyes. "My roof, my rules, Missy." With that she turned on her heel and stalked off, leaving Alice jogging in silence.

Her mouth curved up in a smile. "What a fucking cheater."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: We don't own the Twilight series, Meyer does. We own only our own ideas individually and as a team. Team Hollow Paiges!**

_"Crowded streets are cleared away, one by one. Hollow heroes separate, as they run._

_You're so cold, keep your hand in mine, wise men wonder while strong men die._

_Show me how it ends, it's alright. Show me how defenseless, you really are satisfied and empty inside. Well, that's alright, let's give this another try._

_If you find your family, don't you cry. In this land of make-believe, dead and dry._

_You're so cold, but you feel alive. Lay your hand on me one last time." ~ So Cold by Breaking Benjamin_

**Chapter Six**

**6.6.6.**

_The giant creature's mouth opened, revealing giant, dripping teeth. Its eyes, glowing, demonic, stared back at the brunette as the creature seemed to smile at her. She panicked, but try as she might, she could not budge and inch to escape it. The creature trekked closer to her, long tongue slipping out to swirl around its lips._

"_No," she said. She started thrashing wildly. "No. No!"_

_The creature lunged for her throat. She screamed._

Bella shot up from her bed, panting and sweating. She clutched at her heart as the images of the beast flickered in the back of her mind before finally dissipating. She let out a long, loud sigh as she ran a hand through her moist hair, then flopped back down onto her bed. Brown eyes stared blankly at the ceiling for a few minutes of silence. The only sound she could hear was that of her heart beating.

"Damn it," Bella said. "What the hell is _happening_ to me?"

She glared hard at the ceiling, then the wall as she sat up, scowling. She shook the thoughts away, deciding a shower would help wash the nightmare off. She kicked her covers off and sped into the shower without a second's hesitation. Warm water was soon spilling down on her and Bella let it soak in, sighing to herself.

Her hands roamed her body, first fiddling with her lip ring, then moving down to the crescent moon and stars on her stomach. Bella then trekked her fingers up to the newest addition to her list of scars: the 'bite marks' on her side. She shuddered as she touched them and felt something pulse inside of her, but she pushed the feeling aside.

Bella washed herself, slowly at first, then sped it up before she finished. Not long later, Bella was dried and dressed, pausing only once to spare a glance at her mirror to check out the bite marks again. She scowled.

_Just forget it,_ she thought, glaring at her reflection.

Bella went downstairs, the tall brunette walking into the kitchen, where James sat, idly reading a paper—skimming, more like it, the man found the paper boring, yet for some reason, he deemed it worth his time, likely to seem normal. The blonde-haired man lowered the newspaper when Bella entered, giving her an aloof look.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.

"None of your damn business," the brunette snapped, ignoring the look he gave her. She pulled a box of Life out of the cupboard, poured herself a bowl, then sat down, but not at the table with James. She hopped up onto the counter across the room from him, staring off into a corner while she ate.

James watched her, frowning. "You want me to make something for you or whatever?"

"Your cooking sucks," Bella said in between a mouthful of cereal.

"Says the brat who can't cook to save her miserable life," James said, snorting. "And who was it who devoured my homemade spaghetti a couple weeks ago?"

"_You_ didn't go to the damn store, so I had no choice." Bella stuffed another mouthful in and, minutes later, was drinking the milk out of her bowl. She didn't want to deal with James. The man hardly communicated with her and when he did, he was either drunk or just plain annoying. He always had some ulterior motive to talking to her, always looking for a chance to piss her off. And since when did he care about her health?

James tossed the newspaper aside and stretched. "Doing something stupid again this weekend, I guess."

"Probably. What's it to you?"

"If you die, make it good," the man snarked back. It was half-hearted on his part, but she didn't need to know that.

Bella scoffed. "Yeah, sure. I'll go down in a blaze of glory, promise."

James let out a bitter laugh and walked out of the room while Bella rolled her eyes and stomped out of the house, backpack in tow, just as Jasper drove up. He honked regardless of seeing Bella standing inches away from him, earning a middle finger from the brunette, which only made Jasper honk again.

"Stop that!" Bella shouted as she jumped into the jeep.

Jasper snickered. "Why? It's a good wake up call."

"I'm awake enough, you ass," Bella said, shooting him a dirty look.

Jasper caught something in her eyes in that moment. Fear. He could see it in her brown orbs, tucked away, under the mask of cold indifference she so often wore. Only with Jasper did she ever let the mask down, although recently, he'd started to think there was one other person who had that ability. If only Bella saw it.

Once Bella buckled up, Jasper started driving. He lowered his radio and drove slowly on purpose, shifting his eyes between the road and his best friend sulking next to him.

"Katie's been asking about you," Jasper said. "You don't answer her texts and she's starting to really panic that she's upset or hurt you, Bells. You gotta talk to her sooner rather than later. The poor girl is gonna have a heart attack."

Bella said nothing. On the one hand, she felt guilty about Katie's feelings. She didn't want her friend to suffer, especially after she'd realized what Katie meant to her. And yet, she had to take the fact that she'd warned Katie about herself. She told her she would get hurt. She couldn't be the person Katie wanted her to be, no matter how much she felt for Katie or vice versa. It would never work.

"Bella?" Jasper said, trying to jar her out of her thoughts.

"Can you park away from the boys?" Bella asked. She didn't want to see anyone today for as long as possible. She had too much on her mind, and facing Katie now of all times didn't work. She cared for Katie, but… she just couldn't do it right now.

Jasper sighed and raked a hand through his blonde mane of hair. "Fine. Just give it some thought, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," the brunette muttered back absently.

The boy shook his head, pulling into the student parking lot, passing by Ben's truck and the rest of the gang. He flashed an apologetic smile to those who looked, wincing at the eager and now slightly confused face of Katie. How was _he_ supposed to go talk to her now? He shut off the truck, turning to look at Bella who was glaring out her window. "So, you wanna just chill in the truck and talk or-"

"I'll see you second period." Bella said, already slipping out of the truck with a cigarette between her lips.

As she turned around Jasper's jeep, her eyes automatically flickered across the parking lot. Angela and Ben looked confused, the girl raising her hand and waving Bella over, while Tyler and Eric weren't even paying attention – namely because they were bickering about something, and Katie looked... upset. She waved Bella over too.

The brunette took a puff, blowing the smoke out into the chilly air and turned her back on them. She headed towards her English classroom, shouldering through masses of students, growling at anyone who got in her way. A flash of yellow caught her eye and she briefly looked up, watching the sleek car slide in next to Hale's red convertible.

Impractical. These cars were unpractical for Forks' climate, that's what Bella usually thought whenever she saw Rosalie and Jessica's cars. Seeing this – Bella looked down at the car's make – Porsche on such a rainy day, it was out of place. Something so bright and flashy didn't belong amongst the gloomy dark town of Forks. Someone like Alice did not belong around here.

She had that light, that spark in her eyes, and Bella was anxious...scared? She didn't want to see it snuffed out like her own. She wanted to go over, shake the petite girl, and tell her to run while she still could.

Instead she locked eyes with Alice's light blue ones, watching the corner of the girl's blood red smile hook up in a smirk. Alice lifted her hand, giving a little wave, waiting for one in return.

Bella blew out another lungful of smoke, flicking the butt onto the pavement and pushed through the doors of the English building.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Bella's classes passed by in a haze. No matter how hard she tried to focus, her mind always came back around to her dream. Her scars.

Scars that, despite what she told Jasper and even herself, had not been there even a month ago.

The bell for lunch rang, its shrill noice vibrating down into Bella's eardrums. She dropped her pencil, hands shooting up to plug her ears, clenching her jaw.

Someone placed their hand on the girl's shoulder, leaning down to ask if she was okay. She looked like someone was stabbing her with a pencil.

Bella shot out of her seat, though, shoving their hand off. One hand plugged her ear while the other grabbed up her books. She staggered out of the room, sighing in relief when it stopped, letting her hand drop.

The damn bell...

The brunette opened her locker, shoving her books inside and sighed. She hated school. She hated it so much, day in, day out. "Just a couple more months." It was her last year, of high school at least, she could be done with stuffy classrooms and monotone teachers. The petty high school power pyramid, the lunch lady's Mystery Meat that was more mystery than meat, councilors trying to shove all the college and university pamphlets they had down your throat.

College and University.

She rubbed her forehead, trying to sooth the dull throb forming in her brain. She didn't even want to think about schooling after this. Who knew what they wanted to do at such a young age? She wasn't even legal yet, how was she supposed to decide a career path for the rest of her life?

Not to mention, that if she _were_ to jump right in, it would be something to do with her art. It was the only thing she was good at, the only class she had good grades in. But that field was dicey, some say the diciest. You could never guarantee work. Job security was flimsy at best.

Bella groaned, leaning against her locker. Maybe she would just take the year off and spend it hiding under her bed.

A flash of light shined into her dark gaze, pulling the girl from her frustrated thoughts. She focused her gaze, searching through the sea of students in the hall to find the source of the light, her eyes widening once she did.

Her eyebrows slowly rose up, taking in Alice's lean form leaning against her own locker. The pixie girl was listening to someone talk, probably Hale and her Barbies judging by the previous day, and nodded now and then. Bella had noticed – or at least now she did – that Alice liked to expose a lot of her creamy pale skin. She wore tank tops that revealed toned arms, or crop tops that left an expanse of her midsection open, with low riding, fitting jeans. Her lean stomach was decorated with a single navel piercing, the silver little doodad glinting in the light.

The girl, with one foot up against the lockers behind her, a hand in her pocket, had the other one... playing with the piercing. Just playing, simple, absently, innocently. And as Bella watched, she saw it wasn't just the piercing, but the girl's bellybutton itself. She saw the pixie-haired girl fingering both the divot and the ring as if it were nothing. Yet it struck Bella like lightning, she could feel the hairs on her arms sticking up, her eyes glued to the scene. Enraptured.

Bella liked bellies. She herself had gotten a tattoo on the smooth pale surface, though it had been tied more into her passion than for the actual body part. Bodies, especially ones as pale as hers, were just like blank canvases waiting to get painted. The stomach and back were prime spots for something, anything.

But she did admire the belly, perhaps more than she cared to admit. It was, to her, a work of art just as much as a canvas. They came in all shapes, curves, no curves, flat, toned, plus-sized… They were a marvel. And so was the center, the bellybutton.

They too came in all shapes. Every one was unique, and like the stomach, they were art for Bella, an area to canvas that she had yet to decorate, for a variety of reasons. Bella found them enticing, though, especially when a ring was dangling from one. It drew attention to the lovely scar, and it was combining two works of art together.

Bella swallowed roughly as she watched the girl, Alice, finger her bellybutton and belly ring. She felt her heart racing. She wondered what was going through the girl's head.

_Does she know people could see her? Does it feel good or something?_ Bella's fingers twitched. She tried to shake it off. _I'm watching her play with her damn bellybutton. What the hell is wrong with me?_ But Bella couldn't stop. Her eyes wouldn't leave. Looking at Alice, watching the girl's nimble fingers fiddle with the piece of silver, Bella realized she didn't like bellies. She loved them

Her throat felt dry suddenly and she released a jagged, shuddering breath.

Which evidently was the worst timing ever, because at that moment Alice must have felt her intense gaze, and looked up. Alice's blue eyes locked onto Bella's dark ones, both widening in surprise.

Blood rushed to the surface of Bella's cheeks and she screamed at her body to move and look away. She turned back to her locker-

_**SMACK!**_

"Ow, shit!" Bella growled, holding a hand to the side of her face. She glared daggers at her locker door, slamming the thing shut in embarrassment, and stared down at her shoes.

_Okay. Calm down. Maybe she didn't see. Be cool and take a deep breath._

Bella looked up to see Alice holding back her smile, and scowled, eyes shooting back down to her feet.

_Of course she saw._

The brunette took another breath, shaking off her previous embarrassment and bringing her cold mask back up. She turned to look at Alice who was now full out giggling and making her way over. Bella internally groaned, stuffing her hands into her back pockets.

Alice had a mouth on her, and after their first conversation, Bella knew she also wasn't meek. She was probably coming over to tease Bella, and the girl couldn't blame her. Were their roles reversed, she would be relentless.

The pixie was a couple yards away, opening her mouth with a witty remark at the ready, when a warm hand clamped down on Bella's arm. The brunette was spun around to meet the anxious and peeved face of Katie. Bella frowned. "Uh, hi."

"Don't you _hi_ me, missy. I've been losing my fucking mind since the kiss," the girl growled out. She looked around Bella to see the new girl's face fall, and started dragging her friend down the hall. "We need to talk."

Bella staggered behind her. "About—" She was shoved into an empty classroom, and turned to see Katie shut the door behind them. "—what?"

"Don't give me that shit," Katie said, spinning around to glare at Bella. Even with glossed over eyes—Bella could smell the pot emanating off of her, as usual, but right now that didn't help her relax—she had an intense stare. "Don't pretend like what happened is nothing, damn it. It was and you fucking know it."

Bella's lips twitched. "Kat—"

"Shut the fuck up!" Katie snarled. Bella's mouth snapped shut as she saw an unmistakable fire in Katie's green eyes, smoldering as she walked up to the taller girl. "I don't know what the hell is going on with you, Bella, and for the record, I don't really give a shit. All I know is what happened: I kissed you, and then you kissed me. It was mutual. And then you act weird, run off and I don't hear from you. Fuck that. I deserve some answers!"

She poked Bella in the belly. "We had something there. I felt it and I know damn well you felt it. I don't give a shit about your eyes or that you growled at some deer, shit happens. That's no reason for you to run away from me. But guess what, Bellybutton? You ain't running anymore because I'm not letting you. I'll be damned if I'm going to let what we had die because you're too scared of what will happen. How the fuck do you know what will happen?

"Simple. You don't. You're too busy brooding and being all ice-cold and shit, like you think you can't ever feel something for someone. You're scared you're going to hurt me, you said so yourself. Is that true? Well, guess what, girlfriend. I. Don't. Care. Whatever you throw at me, whatever shit you say, I can handle it. I can dish out as good as I take and I won't let your cowardice stop me from feeling how I feel. This isn't some stupid school crush. I've had feelings for you since we became friends years ago."

The redhead's eyes continued to blaze and Bella swore she could feel an entire fire coming off of the shorter girl, surrounding her and swallowing the entire room whole.

"You are my friend, Bella," Katie said. "My best friend. And I love you. You're gorgeous, you're smart, you're funny, you're a badass, you're talented… I could go on for fucking hours, but I shouldn't have to. I've made my point." She poked Bella again. "Stop being a damn pussy and face the reality. I'm not going away or stopping. Deal with it."

The brunette stared at her. Katie's eyes held resolve and strength in them, a burning passion that reached Bella on a level she'd never felt before. But Katie didn't know what she was asking. How could she say it was okay for Bella to hurt her? Why would she want that? Bella didn't understand, and she sure as hell didn't want it herself.

"Katie," Bella said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Please, you don't know what you're asking me."

"Yes, I do," Katie said. "This is the most clear I've been in my whole fucking life, Bella."

Bella shook her head. "No, you don't. I don't want to hurt you and that's exactly—"

"Exactly what?" Katie asked. "How do you know you'll hurt me? You _think_ you will because that's the only thing you've got in that stupid brain of yours. How can you know? You can't see the fucking future, Bella."

"I know because it's the truth," Bella said. She was struggling to keep her composure. She didn't want to hurt Katie. And yet, she felt a powerful tug toward the redhead because Katie's words had pierced through her ice-cold shell and were stuck there. She felt them seeping into her, warming her bones, and Bella liked that. A lot. But still.

"No," Katie said. "I refuse to believe you because you refuse to believe your heart." She pointed at the brunette's chest for extra emphasis. "Bella, you won't hurt me. And I won't hurt you. You don't have to be afraid of letting that mask down like you do with Jasper. I'm your best friend, just like he is." She reached out to brush her fingers against the brunette's tensed up arm. "But I love you in a way he never can. Trust me. You won't scare me away with some growly noise. I won't budge.

She looked into Bella's turmoil-filled eyes. "Don't fight your feelings. You've been doing that for so long, you've forgotten what they are. I can tell when I look at you and when we talk. You have emotions, Bella. You have a heart, a conscience, a soul. They're all gorgeous, just like you. Don't be afraid of what you feel. Embrace it."

Silence fell.

Bella's heart pounded in her chest like it wanted to break free while her mind swirled with thoughts, emotions and Katie's words. Bella just held Katie's gaze, soaking in the strength that swirled around the redhead. She felt something, something warm and powerful, surging through her, warming her entire body. She couldn't describe it, but it was there. That same familiar sensation she'd felt when she and Katie first kissed.

Bella swallowed. Her fingers twitched. Her heart fluttered. "I can't promise you anything, Katie," Bella said, slow and even. "But… We can try things out if you truly want to. Slowly." She didn't want to hurt Katie, which was why she was so hesitant. But it was becoming harder to fight what was raging inside of her. And Katie told her not to.

Bella's arms looped around the redhead, and within seconds, their lips were mashing together in a warm, emotion-filled kiss. Katie was taken by surprise, but soon, she had her arms around Bella and the two were kissing vigorously, feeling pouring out of each girl's body into the other through their mouths.

Bella allowed herself to feel. And it felt fantastic.

Their lips danced together for a short while before Bella pulled away. Her brown eyes gazed into the smoldering, stoned green ones of Katie. She allowed herself another kiss, which turned into several kisses before she stopped.

Katie smiled giddily. "If that's your idea of 'slowly,' I can't fucking wait for the medium speed."

Bella sighed. "Katie…"

"Don't," Katie said, kissing Bella herself. "Don't ruin it. Shut the fuck up and be happy." She wrapped her arms around Bella again and Bella, feeling an overwhelming warmth pulse through her, hugged the redhead close to her.

It wasn't just an affectionate gesture or a show of Bella's feelings. There was something more. Protection. Bella's arms tightened around the girl as she breathed in the sweet smell of pot and Katie's natural scent. She wanted to protect Katie. She would protect Katie. It was almost as if the need was as powerful as the need for air, and while Bella found it strange, she didn't question it. How could she not want to keep her safe?

"Hey, Bella?" Katie said.

"Yeah?"

The redhead grinned. "Wanna get high with me and Angie after school?"

The brunette's lips twitched. "Hell yes."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Kids rushed through the hallways as the bell rang, all eager to get away from the school. The day was done and they were free, and yet it was as if they all thought they might be trapped within unless they vacated immediately. The result was chaos in the hallways, people pushing and shoving their way through the sea of students. Laughing and shouting to friends. Books falling and scattering on the ground, locker doors swinging around and banging against each other.

Bella was glad her headache was gone and she could walk through the masses with ease again. Katie was also quite glad, the shorter girl practically latched onto the brunette's back as Bella cut through the crowd, students parting like the Red Sea. Whether it was because of her height, her glare, or just Bella herself, Katie didn't know, and frankly didn't care. She was quickly learning that Bella had many quirks. Some of them useful likes these. Some of them scarier like in the woods. Either way, she knew it was best to let them go if she had any hope of hanging onto the girl.

The two of them broke free of the halls and made it out the door into the parking lot. Katie let go of Bella's messenger back and switched to the tall girl's arm instead, looking up to make sure it was okay. Bella tensed for a few moments but relaxed when Katie brushed her fingers against the back of her hand.

Angela was around the corner of the Science building, shooing kids away from the solitary picnic table. It was a popular spot, blocked away from prying eyes, yet still close enough you wouldn't be late for class. It was like a marathon race before and after class to get there before anyone else, and Angela had made a mad dash the second the bell had rung.

Now she was reaping the benefits, lounged back on the table with a smug smirk on her face. "Well, looks like we all had a win today. I got the table and satisfaction of watching kids walk away with their tails tucked, and you guys swap spit."

"Oh, gross." Katie laughed, shaking her head. She perched on the other side of the picnic table while Bella sat on the bench in front of her.

Angela shrugged her shoulders the best she could in her position. "Congrats, guys. I always knew you kids would make it."

"I was promised funny smoke and I don't see any," Bella said with a slight pout. She wasn't sure if she was ready to talk about it. Words weren't really her thing.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Why do you always call it that, we're not twelve?"

"Mary Jane and I have a deep understanding. I'll call her whatever I want," Bella grinned, perking up when Angela produced a blunt from seemingly nowhere. She didn't even have pockets today.

The other girls exchanged looks before Katie smirked. "That's what I'm talking about." Bella lifted an eyebrow and Katie snorted. "Bella, Mary Jane and I have been together way longer than with you and Angela. Don't forget who introduced her to you in the first place. She's _my_ bitch."

"So what do you guys have planned after we spend some quality time with our favorite mistress?" Angela asked, searching through her bag for a lighter. She _just _had it...

Bella pulled a matchbook from her pocket and flicked it onto Angela's lap. "Actually I have to do some grocery shopping. James and I are down to cranberries in a can and beer."

"Why doesn't he go shopping?" Katie asked with a grumble. She'd wanted to hang out with Bella some more.

The brunette sighed. "Because he's a useless tit?"

"Hah!" Angela snorted. She broke down in giggles that slowly but surely had the other two cracking smiles. Angela wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, taking another puff. "Tit," she repeated with another snort.

"I thought Katie said we _weren't_ twelve?" Bella mocked, snatching the joint from her giggling friend. She took a deep puff and passed it across to Katie before pulling out her phone. "I need to text Jas," she breathed out in an air of smoke. "I'll need his jeep for the bags."

"Where _is_ your other half?" Angela asked. She held up her hand to Katie who had a retort ready. "_Platonic _other half. It's not often we see one without the other."

Bella couldn't stop herself from smirking. "Probably leaving roses at Lauren's locker." Both Angela and Katie froze, staring at their friend with wide, surprised eyes. Bella looked away from her phone and up at the girls, her words catching up with her. Dark eyes widened. "Oh shit! No, you didn't hear that! I didn't say anything! _Merda_! If you value your lives you won't say a word, you won't even think about it."

Again, the girls looked at each other. "What the actual fuck." Katie said. "He's hot for a Barbie? That's fucked up."

"Betrayal!" Angela announced. "Didn't we have a pact? No attraction to the Barbies from any of us?"

The brunette huffed. "Well that's easy for you to say when you're on a strict hotdog diet. You're impervious to how hot those girls are."

"Excuse me?!" Katie exclaimed, snatching the joint from Bella's hands and taking a long drag. She blew the smoke out, still glaring. "You think they're hot?"

Bella frowned, trying to dig herself out of the hole she was in. "I wouldn't act on it or anything, but... I mean, come on, you have to admit that—"

"I don't have to admit shit!" Katie growled. "Those girls are bitches."

"I'm not saying they're aren't," Bella defended herself. Rewind. Where was the rewind button? "Okay, listen, all I'm saying is that Jasper is a boy and he's attracted to girls. The Barbies, bitches or not, are girls who put extreme effort into making themselves attractive. Too much effort? Probably. But it has the desired effect. Nobody chooses who they like, so give the guy a break." Angela and Katie considered this, calming down soon after. "Besides, it could be worse."

Angela tilted her head curiously, smoke pouring out of her mouth. "How so?"

"Between the three, who would you rather he like?" Bella asked.

Jessica was an all around horrible person. Rosalie was a man-eater. Hell, she was a person eater, ready to chew up and spit out anyone in her path. It would take a stronger person than sweet Jasper to take on the Queen like that. Lauren could be a sweetie, Bella knew from experience. Bella used to rake the leaves in the Mallory's lawn, and Lauren used to make her snacks and bring her in to watch TV with lunch.

"Lauren," they both agreed, puffing smoke into the air.

Bella nodded, then scowled. "Hey, save some for me!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Woohoo!" Jasper cheered, speeding down the grocery aisle on his own, empty cart. He dropped his feet, skidding to a stop before the end, an enormous smile on his face.

The brunette gave a half smile back. She'd been debating with herself since she left the girls, whether or not to tell Jasper that she told them his little secret. One of two things would happen, she was sure. Either he would freak right the hell out, yell at her, get embarrassed, and spend the rest of the night pouting while demanding she do the stupidest things to repay him. Or he would forgive her. Be all understanding and say it was okay, drop the subject completely. But he wouldn't tell her things like that again, he would keep all his secrets to himself.

Jeez, why did relationships have to be so complicated?

Sighing, Bella grabbed a jar of pickles and put them in the cart. She wasn't really sure what to get and wasn't in the mood for much other than some munchies. Why, _why_ did she toke up before going shopping?

Because of Katie, that's why. And it was ritualistic to get stoned with Katie and Angela. They did it all the time, more than the boys and more than the group together combined.

"I'm hitting the freezer section, Bells!" Jasper called from the end of the aisle. "Mom wants me to pick up some ice cream for dessert tonight."

The girl nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll meet you there."

She watched him go, relaxing a little bit. Maybe it was best if she just kept it to herself? She made Angela and Katie promise not to tell a soul, threatening to tell Ben about Angela and Eric's makeout session when they had broken up that one summer. And Katie, well, things were still new for her and Bella and the redhead wouldn't risk upsetting the fragile balance they'd established.

Bella bounced off the cart's handle at the sudden stop, the air knocked from her lungs. "Ooof!" She dragged in a deep breath and looked up. And up. And up.

A giant stood before her with a basket in his large arms. Okay, not a real giant, but the guy had to be six and a half feet at least, and would give Arnold a run for his money muscle wise. A quick comparison between him and a mountain came to mind before Bella shook her head, focusing on him. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, thanks. Sorry. Um, about hitting you," she said, pulling her cart back from his stomach. The tee shirt beneath his coat was form fitting and Bella could see the impressive abs through it, not surprised in the least bit. Even with the coat obstructing her view, she could tell his arms were large with muscle. The man was built. What did surprise her, though, was the baby face looking back down at her. It was kind and friendly, despite the few scars that otherwise would make someone look dangerous. His light green eyes were gentle, and the lopsided smile on his face almost goofy. Bella felt herself relax. "I wasn't paying attention."

The giant ran a hand through his dark chocolate hair, bringing a couple of loose locks out of his face. "Don't even worry about it, kid. Didn't feel a thing."

Bella nodded, stuffing her hands in her back pockets. She studied his face and clothes, what he was buying, and hummed to herself. "You new here? I don't remember seeing you before." There was something happening, something about this guy.

"I am," he agreed. "I just moved into the open property on Dunning."

It was a beautiful old mansion that had been abandoned for years. No one wanted to risk moving in because of its age, in fact, despite the realtor's safety code installed. People just didn't trust old structures like that anymore, especially not during the storms Forks was known for. Kids used to hangout around there, dare each other to spend the night by themselves inside. It was like a beautiful Victorian-era museum during the day, but a haunted mansion when the sun went down.

Bella had never been able to stay alone for more than an hour or two.

"Well aren't you the cliché stranger in town." She said. Her fingers twitched with an urge, but for what, Bella didn't know. Like she should be doing something, but she couldn't figure out what or why.

The giant grinned. "Am I? Does that bother you? You seem on edge."

"I couldn't care less," she shot back hotly. She felt a pressure in her chest that she tried to smother, and crossed her arms over it. "I just want to know what you're doing in my town."

"Your town?" he questioned with that damn grin. Like he knew something she didn't.

Bella frowned. _My town?_ This was just Forks, who cared what happened here? He was free to come and go as he pleased, though why he would come was weird. There was nothing to do in such a quiet little town. Yet when Bella thought about him here, walking around in the grocery store, or chilling at the Dunning mansion... something was off. Like that uncomfortable feeling you get when people invited strangers over to your house. In your things. In your space. You didn't give permission yourself.

"Yes, my town. My dad is... was the Chief of police."

"So that makes Forks your territory then?" He laughed.

The brunette glared at him, stepping forward threateningly. "_Yes it does_," she growled.

His green eyes flickered down to his feet in submission, the same kind of look Eric had given her when they went camping. That same satisfaction rushed over her, like an itch that had been scratched, and the pressure in her chest subsided. "I'm just looking for another traveler," the giant said. "I'm positive he's around here now. Have you seen anyone else new to town?"

"No," Bella said, relaxing back against her cart. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she remembered Jasper was waiting by the freezers for her. "Good luck finding him."

She pushed her cart around the guy's hulking frame, trying to remember the list of groceries she had made in her head. "Wait," he said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. He stopped when she looked over. "I'm Emmett."

"So?"

He shrugged his massive shoulders. "I think we should talk—"

"You really aren't my type, buddy. Not enough boobs," Bella said.

Emmett frowned. "I wasn't... you're going to want to talk to me."

"I sincerely doubt that," Bella muttered, continuing down the store.

"You can find me at the mansion when you're ready," he called after her, shaking his head.

This was starting to get messy.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, everyone. We've both been swamped (with school for myself, work for Paige, and life for the both of us). That's why it took us so long to edit this bloody thing. But here it is, and I will post the next chapter much sooner. **

**Thank you to everyone for the feedback and responses thus far. Things will gradually pick up. But for now, we're just building the characters up. Till next time.**


End file.
